[full disclosure that this posting is "live" so to speak; i hope to edit and add onto it once we've had our class discussion, and i've done some more of my own legwork. think of this as a hybrid essay/lesson plan]

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When Nia was first introduced to us in this essay, I thought her character was meant to serve a positive role in this situation. She spoke of growing up in a bubble and wanting to change that, she said, “our childhood molds us but it does not make us who we are.” This, to me, meant that she knew she was ignorant of many issues but that she wanted to unlearn her prejudice thoughts and become conscious of social justice issues. I thought this was going to be the main idea of this essay. That “slippage” allows room for growth because it is not intentional prejudice, but internalized prejudice. And though I was skeptical of how true that was, I did not doubt Nia and her hope to become better.

i found meiner’s introduction a repetition of things i already know (of), but it was sometimes excellent to have some of that knowledge reframed and connected. for example, i know the issues of the pic and of the school-to-prison pipeline; in fact, i’d say you cannot have a full understanding or definition of the pic without understanding the school-to-prison pipeline. but i have never thought to consider the person in the role of educator in these scenarios — i have only focused on the “victims” of the system (i.e., the students) and the system itself.

Hi all,

First- I am about to email you all personal narratives, with each page as 1 attachment. I'm sorry this is such an annoying file format. I am uing an old computer programs and a basic scanner, but tomorrow I will scan these with my fancy scanner at work and upload/post them as 1 actual file. 

I definitely agreed with a lot of what this essay was saying. Two things stood out to me: Nia's discussion about stifled identities at Bryn Mawr College and the discussion about how students uptake lessons from their professors. 

Below is a two-page overview of Tocqueville's argument that I delivered to my Deep Springs students a few years ago while we were reading selections from Democracy in America. I've also attached my own set of notes from graduate school -- a rough outline of the entire argument. (Both have page number references to the Mansfield and Winthrop University of Chicago Press edition; I didn't have you buy this because we're only reading the first volume.)

I began Friday feeling rushed and stressed, having scheduled multiple meetings for the morning (not the most productive move). During each of my meetings, I was fidgeting in my seat and was thinking only about the afternoon. Finally, we all piled into the van for the journey to the prison. I had a heightening feeling of anxiety when we entered, partly because I had forgotten my paper copy of the lesson plan in the van. It was a tiny thing, and easily solved, but for some reason it almost sent me into a panic, because I wanted to be perfectly prepared for anything. I wasn't nervous about the prisoners; rather, I was terrified of the Correctional Officers, who had the power to treat us however they wanted.

Sheila mentioned googling some of the topics that were coming up for all of you in response to her questions. This is a great way to start your research, but I also wanted to suggest "hitting the stacks," that is, giving yourself a little time to go to the library and look at books on the shelves. We're fortunate enough to have what are called "open stacks," which means that you can wander among the books. (Contrast this to the New York Public Library, where you take the title of a specific book to a desk and they fetch the book for you.) This wandering can lead to fascinating discoveries as you see the title you meant to find rubbing against titles that you didn't expect -- but which are interesting and might open you to an entirely new way of thinking.

I was immediately surprised and comforted by how welcoming and motivated the womyn were when we were settled into our room. It was obvious that they wanted to be there and they brought so much energy to the class. I was so grateful for their openness to tell their stories and share their opinions, even if they weren’t the most popular ideas. I was impressed by how well two womyn in particular, one I will call Claire, and the other I will refer to as Margaret tried to navigate their own ideas and knowledge about Katrina, as well as welcoming and encouraging new ideas from us.