November 10, 2015 - 10:33
i want to reflect for a bit on how the thursday prison class went, especially now that i have more words to do so after our discussions last night.
first i think it's important to say that i think that the class overall went very well. i appreciate those who suggested we bring in the barometer exercise because i do think it gave space for participation for more folks who typically do not speak up during the evenings.
that said, i also still feel uncomfortable when people raise their voices and seem to be arguing when they may not be saying different ideas. i don't know how to address this because it may be a cultural difference between me and my academic background and the incarcerated individuals who largely have not had a space to discuss ideas in the same way. i don't think that academic discussions are inherently better, either -- so i'm not frustrated with the people who come to our thursday night class as much as i am with the situation.
also, i want to reflect on something that the unknown has mentioned a few times (mostly in person, but perhaps here online as well). she noted that sometimes there are folks who state an idea as fact, when it is not... i'm still unsure how to work with this. opinions are one thing, as we can generally reflect on our experiences and why we think the way we do. but is there a way to say that someone's "fact" is wrong? how do we do that without shutting down conversation? how do we do that without flaunting our privilege of having access to information and reinforcing the already existing hierarchy within the space?
this brings me to my next point -- i believe joel helped in wording this -- that there is definitely the issue of "us" and "them" that is inherent in this situation. we can't avoid it as far as i can tell. so how do we address how we see ourselves as coming from an academic space and without the experiences that these individuals have? how do we address how the incarcerated individuals see themselves as likely not being academic enough but having vastly different experiences? how do we each try to compensate for these things? how can we encourage all of us to bring our respective experiences without assuming we have the right answers?
i think these questions alone wouldn't be frustrating to me if i had even the slightest answer. i'm a pluralist i guess? so i don't even expect one single answer... but i also wish i could have in any way answered these questions for myself before mid november. we don't have much time left going into the prison, and i still don't feel that i truly understand my role in the space.