One of Bucknell’s current classes is an Inside-Out class, which is a Sociology 100 course that meets every Tuesday from 12:00-4:30 at Muncy State Correctional Institution in which 7 Bucknell (outside) students and 8 Incarcerated (inside) students meet. This class is a Community Engaged Learning(CEL) course that allows for students to gain unique perspectives while engaging with members of the community who they might not otherwise. Two of the students were asked to give their reflection on the class, which is written below.
Cloey Rentschler (Freshman, Neuroscience major)
I never thought I would be stepping into a correctional facility, for any reason, but I am so beyond grateful that I did. My name is Cloey Rentschler and I am a current sophomore Neuroscience major here at Bucknell. Although I hope to work in the medical field one day, social and reformative work have always interested me, but I didn’t really think any classes as such would fall into my neuroscience major. Then, I stumbled upon the inside-out class when looking through the course catalog, and decided to reach out to Professor Karen Altendorf, the professor for the course, to learn more about it.
Our weekly structure includes doing in-depth reading and notes on books and then having small and large group discussions on our readings, as well as mini-lectures from time to time. One of the most amazing things about this class is how respectful and understanding all of the students are to one another, regardless of how difficult the conversations might be. All of the students are very engaged in the class and want to be right where they are, which makes it such an engaging experience.
I think one of my biggest reflections and takeaways from this course, so far, has been my ability to learn how to better step into the shoes of others. We talk a lot about perspectives and issues that people face on a daily basis, of which we can’t even imagine going through. Being able to hear what others have to say about experiences or their perspectives has really opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking and ideas.
Regardless of your major or intent in life, I fully believe that every student at Bucknell would benefit from taking a course like this. This class has given me so many opportunities, friends, experiences, and a new perspective on life.
Abby Moller (Freshman, Freeman College of Management)
This has been one of the coolest experiences of my life, and it’s so interesting to go each week to prison and have classmates that are incarcerated.
Everyone has different experiences, opinions, and ideas, which makes it a really cool experience to be able to hear from others. One story I remember was the first class and doing icebreakers, and never having met them, it gave us the opportunity to get to know them but also understanding their hardship. A really important concept for this class is to have an open mind because you might not agree on everything, but you get to hear different opinions and perspectives.
One thing I sometimes take for granted is being able to go to classes. It’s a privilege to go to class and especially for the incarcerated students to be able to do this to better themselves for when they go back into society. They care so much and come to class every time, come to work, and really want to show people that just because they were incarcerated, doesn’t mean they can’t be better and go back into society. This has not only been an opportunity for me, but also for the inside students.
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