Preparing for the First Day of Class

The purpose of this page is to help one prepare for the first day of the term. Building relationships with students through mutual vulnerability and trust, as well as some relevant logistical information about the facility.

The first day of class in any educational setting is critical, as it lays the groundwork for teacher-student interactions and expectations throughout the semester. While you may have teaching experience within a college classroom from which to draw, there is more to consider in preparation for navigating California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or county jail facilities for your first day of onsite teaching. It is helpful to separate the logistics of accessing your classroom within the facility from your first day curriculum plans and interactions with students.

Connecting and Communicating with Students

Connecting with students is a continuation of the connections you build within the prison. As is the case at our colleges or in any workspace, building rapport and connections begins with being kind and respectful to all those you encounter. While the prison can seem to be a very serious environment, it’s okay to smile, make eye contact, connect, and ask questions. Think beyond the dualistic structure of the prison ("good guys and bad guys," "guards and inmates," etc.) and act accordingly. Refrain from reinforcing this duality in your thinking, actions, or conversations. Students respond to the ways in which they are labelled, and we cannot determine the depth or nuance of every student's interpretation of historically (and contemporarily) marginalizing labels. Even if words like "inmate" and "prisoner" denote descriptively accurate definitions of one's state of incarceration, they no doubt also reduce one's humanity to that of their position within the carceral state and the criminal justice system; put another way, such persistently-used reductive labels cannot effectively convey the weight and importance of one's circumstances (past and present), potential, and overall personhood.

As was discussed in the Power and Identity Module, to be equity-focused practitioners we have to acknowledge our own biases and act in ways that champion equity and belonging for our students. Treat everyone with respect and dignity. Remember that education staff and correctional officers are your allies. They are very familiar with the routines of their facilities and with your students, and they can help if you’re unsure about anything, including a student’s behavior.

A key element of connecting with students is being authentic yourself as well as promoting authenticity in the classroom. The instructor sets the tone in the classroom, so student authenticity will be a reflection of how authentic you are. The consistency already mentioned, especially instructor communication and reinforcement of classroom procedures and behaviors, is a key element of creating a learning environment that fosters authenticity.

Another key element of connecting with students and being authentic is being welcoming. Creating a welcoming space for your students and classes, especially on the first day. Think in advance about how you want to be perceived, and incorporate communications and activities into your first day of class to be welcoming and to create and reinforce the perception you’re aiming to achieve. Think about body language in addition to what you say. Remember as in any class setting, some students have never taken a college class. Use inclusive language from day one and define and explain any college-specific terms, processes, and practices. Help students settle into your classroom environment.

Maintaining Balance While Connecting with Students

Being authentic helps students to connect with you, but you do need to be careful about sharing too much about yourself. Maintain boundaries around your personal life. Sharing information about your upbringing, hobbies, education, experiences, and research interests is encouraged and can help students relate to you. Sharing information about your family, where you live, or other students is not appropriate.

If you are comfortable, share why have chosen to teach in the prison environment. Keep in mind that an instructor’s role is not to save students but to empower students. To the extent that it might be true, share that you are teaching in the prison as a way to support their learning journey and have much respect for their efforts as students in an environment that doesn’t openly value student success or taking intellectual risks and that is an environment where it is difficult to stay disciplined.

Many incarcerated students have had to learn to manipulate those around them in order to survive, both while growing up and while incarcerated. Stay aware of this and frame empathy accordingly. Blurring boundaries can be dangerous to you and your students; a one-on-one conversation that you might have with a student in a classroom on campus could have serious repercussions for your student or for you when done in prison. However, blurring boundaries is not necessary to show compassion and belief in your students, and maintaining boundaries does not mean dehumanizing students or remaining disconnected from them.

“[In a traditional classroom], it’s important for teachers to develop a rapport, and in most cases, a personal rapport is possible. Teachers may have a picture of their family on their desk, or talk about their family [to their students]. In a prison setting, you don’t do that. You develop a rapport, but it stays within the curriculum. It’s not personal.” From Lessons in Lock-up: What It’s Really Like to Teach in Prison Links to an external site..

Facility Logistics

Every CDCR or county facility has different procedures for entering and accessing the classroom, but there are common elements you should be prepared to navigate. To begin with, if the program coordinator, faculty lead, or seasoned faculty have not mentioned any opportunity to review and discuss logistics prior to your first day, ask! Plan ahead and ask about facility logistics and whether a tour of the facility and the classroom is available. Visiting the classroom space in advance and navigating the many steps necessary for access is very helpful in calming first-day jitters. Understanding how long it takes to navigate the many checkpoints and gates is also important; always arrive to the facility in enough time to reach your classroom prior to the start of your class.

You likely received a short CDCR or county training on what you can and cannot do within the facility, or your coordinator or faculty lead may have provided a list of things you need when accessing a prison or jail facility. To start with, dress codes are strict. If you are unsure what is allowed, ask your coordinator, faculty lead, or senior faculty member in advance. Until you become familiar with what can be worn, it is helpful to have extra clothes in your vehicle in case anything you are wearing isn’t allowed.

Always carry your prison ID. You should only have a whistle, “chits” to check out keys, regular ID, car keys, water, and teaching materials in your bag. Keep your bag within your possession and sight at all times. If car keys or an ID go missing, the entire prison is put on lock down. Know what you can and cannot carry in with you, and double-check to make sure you’ll only be bringing in what is allowed. Leave your cell phone at home or in your car, as cell phones are not allowed in CDCR facilities.

Infographic summarizing the First Day Logistics list fully shared below.

First-Day Logistics

Check drive time. Take traffic into consideration. Plan to arrive at the prison 15-30 minutes prior to the start of your course.
Make sure materials will be in your classroom prior to the first day - books, notepads, pencils.
Print out in advance everything you need for your students: a syllabus, any homework for the next week, written assignments, additional readings, etc.
Plan to leave your phone at home or in your car. Do not bring or use your phone on state property.
Check the dress codes. Plan to dress comfortably, including wearing comfortable shoes. You need to be able to move around the classroom and within the facility with ease, and you will likely stand and walk more than you initially expect. Overdressing to impress is not necessary.
Arrive early, ideally 15-30 minutes prior to the start of your course (save time for security checkpoints which may sometimes need to prioritize officers).
Have your ID ready to show at the control gate(s).
Be sure you have your "chits" if you need to check out keys and an alarm (the use of "chits" differs from prison to prison).
If you are unsure where your classroom is, or what keys to use, ask for help (communicate about this information with the education coordinator assigned to your yard prior to beginning classes).
Once inside the classroom, try to get all set up before letting students in (sometimes students will need to enter the education building or classroom before class begins).
Once inside the facility, ask "Charlie 4" to release your students for class if needed; you may need to communicate this request directly with a correctional officer.
Have fun and be authentic! The first day is the most challenging, and sets the tone for how the term will progress.

Classroom Considerations

As in any educational setting, there are classroom logistics you may want to consider and prepare for. Get to your classroom early so you can get organized prior to students’ arrival. If the facility allows it, set up tables and chairs as you would like them. Write what is needed on the board, including what you want to be called and the agenda for the day.

You can always ask that students wait outside the classroom until you are ready, and then make sure everyone arrives and leaves together, if possible, rather than having students come in alone or wait individually for you once class is over. Often, students arrive in small groups by cell block, and a few may be very late; in this case, wait until a majority of students are present.

Decide what you want to be called. Referring to instructors more formally as "Professor [Last Name]," "Ms. [Last Name]," etc. may be most commonly expected in incarcerated environments. While the culture(s) and institution(s) of CDCR certainly necessitates our collaboration and adherence to certain protocol, as college educators we nonetheless maintain responsibility for and jurisdiction over basic classroom management.

Decide what you want to call students. Most prisons use students’ last names, but many instructors prefer using students’ first names as it feels more authentic. Ask students what name they want to be called, how they prefer to be identified.

Be consistent in your approach to classroom agendas and structure as well as how you treat each student. This consistency is helpful to creating an effective learning space for students, as students can engage more completely and authentically when they have a clear understanding of classroom procedures and reasons for those procedures.

Intentional Insights: Valuing Ideas, Feelings, and Questions

An English faculty's perspective. The first day of class is significant, as it relates to managing your class and how the class will develop. Each prison or jail and each college serving that prison or jail are unique in their own norms and expectations. However, there are some day-one tasks that faculty may need to prepare for, regardless of institution or program. A day-one promising practice is presenting course expectations, and asking students about their course expectations, as a means to collaboratively develop applicable classroom norms.

Here is an example from an English composition course of what a Norms or Expectations section in a syllabus might look like:

“In class, students must demonstrate mutual respect in their interactions with both peers and the instructor. In our texts, issues may arise that are sometimes difficult or controversial. Please note that our readings may discuss or acknowledge violence, sexuality, race and racism, misogyny, unconventional family dynamics, etc. I am aware that these topics may be difficult to read and write about at times; nonetheless, these issues present an overview of topics that are typical of a college classroom.

As the instructor, my goal for facilitating reading discussions is not to intentionally make anyone uncomfortable or add to any existing traumatic experiences. My goal is to facilitate discussions that develop our critical thinking abilities and develop our abilities to have an appropriate dialog that is necessary in spaces of higher education.

This being said, as an academic community, we share a mutual responsibility to create and maintain a supportive environment where students, as well as the instructor, feel able to speak up and respond to the text and course material in a thoughtful and productive way, despite differences in opinions or experiences. This means that each student’s ideas, feelings, and questions are valued; the professor’s ideas, feelings, and questions are valued. This should ground our interactions with the text and one another throughout the semester.”

A syllabus snippet like this could be used to invite a discussion about what “mutual respect” and “responsibility,” for example, might mean or how they might present themselves in class.

It's encouraged that students are invited to come up with additional class norms, if not the primary norm of the class, so that expectations are crafted collaboratively.

A Sociology faculty's perspective: