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1			Advocates for educational programs in prisons argue that they can use the social structure of a prison classroom environment for the betterment of incarcerated individuals. Visit the website of the Center for the Study of Correctional Education (http://www.csusb.edu/coe/cg/csce/index.html). Click on the link to "Educational Growth & Programs," and read through the information there. What might be some of the reasons that correctional educators need a different kind of training program than other kinds of educators? In what ways are the special issues you would anticipate related to the structural environment of a correctional facility, if at all? This page states that educators at correctional institutions "play a vital role in the lives of their individual students." In your view, does the structure of a correctional institution make the role of the teacher more central than would be the case in an ordinary public school? Why or why not? Click on the link to "Research & Library," and skim the article entitled "The History of Correctional Education." Whether or not correctional education should be provided is controversial, especially where adult offenders are concerned. What is your view? What might be some of the arguments for and against it? Are you surprised to read that correctional educational practices have had such an influence in public schools?




2			Disability is a very powerful master status. Through advocacy, however, groups such as the Independent Living Institute (www.independentliving.org) strive to alter the social perception and treatment of the disabled. Visit their website, and see how this organization hopes to change the lives of disabled people. Read through the section on "What Is Independent Living?" The last three lines of this passage read: "As long as we regard our disabilities as tragedies, we will be pitied. As long as we feel ashamed of who we are, our lives will be regarded as useless. As long as we remain silent, we will be told by others what to do." Why does the author of this passage emphasize the attitudes and actions of the disabled themselves, rather than the people around them? How do you think a sociologist would relate this emphasis to the concept of a master status? Click on the links to "Vacation Home Exchange" and "Study and Work Abroad for All," and browse through the information on these pages. Why is it important that the disabled be able to travel, study, and work abroad? Is the importance of these activities related to the concept of a master status? Would you have expected this website to have a stronger emphasis on meeting the most essential, practical needs of the disabled, like daily transportation and living expenses? Why might many non-disabled people have this expectation? Click your browser's back button to return to the main page. This page notes that the Independent Living Institute is run by disabled people. From a sociological perspective, why might this be important? Why might it be important to make explicit note of this fact?

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