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Write a 2 page Summary Journal of Human Services Fall/201681Review of College for Convicts:The Case for Higher Education in American PrisonsShoshana D. Kerewsky, Deanna Chappell BelcherBook ReviewWith College for Convicts: The Case for Higher Education in American Prisons,Christopher Zoukis (2014) enters the ongoing national debate on rehabilitation versuspunishment for people convicted of crimes. Specifically, he argues that prison educationprograms benefit both convicts and society. His particular areas of focus, as well as the questionsleft unexplored, provide a basis for useful critical discussion with students, educators, andadministrators.One of the book’s chief assets is its accessibility. Human services students who are notfollowing the ongoing and intensifying national debate about prison reform (for example, who donot know that prisoners once had access to Pell Grants, then did not, and now might again) willfind Zoukis’s (2014) overview helpful. The book includes an historical overview of prisoneducation, a discussion of barriers to education faced by both individual convicts and prisonsystems, examples of successful programs and partnerships, and resources. His practicalsuggestions include approaches used in other countries as well as appendices providing concreteinformation, such as sources for prisoners to obtain free and inexpensive books. Zoukisincorporates references to a great many studies on issues such as the relationship between lack ofeducation and recidivism, the cost of education versus reincarceration, and the impacts ofeducational attainment on both prison functioning and community crime rates. This material willbe extremely helpful for human services students wrestling with these ideas for the first time.Since human services students and professionals may work with prisoners and people withprevious convictions, both in detention or transition settings and in the general client population,their increased awareness of these issues will provide an important context for their clients’experiences and needs. The book should also prove useful for educators and administratorsconsidering partnerships with prison education programs and developing relevant field studyplacements for students.Zoukis (2014) is currently incarcerated; his book is likely to move and inspire collegestudents to consider their relative privilege and to challenge their assumptions about people whoare incarcerated. In this regard, the book also serves as a personal, humanizing document, boththrough Zoukis’s account of his own story and those of other incarcerated people (includingolder people and those serving life sentences). These sections bring the statistics and Zoukis’sarguments for prisoner education alive.Zoukis (2014) sometimes loses this personal connection in paragraphs and sections ofdense statistical reportage. Instructors may need to help students find a good balance betweenimportant questions, such as how a community benefits economically when it educates formeroffenders, and students’ recognition of shared humanity with the people being discussed.Students with past convictions may seek entry to human services programs in order tocontribute to the community or help those similar to themselves; Paulson, Groves, and Hagedorn(in press) note that community college human services programs may not be permitted toexclude people with criminal backgrounds from enrollment due to open enrollment admissionsShoshana D. Kerewsky and Deanna Chappell Belcher, Family & Human Services Program, University of Oregon,Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Shoshana D. Kerewsky at .Journal of Human Services Fall/201682policies. In their anonymous survey of 90 enrolled college human services students, 1/3 reportedat least one conviction (17 reported misdemeanors; 13 reported felonies). Given the potentialpresence of students who are former prisoners in the human services classroom, the instructor’sactive guidance of the discussion will be crucial for maintaining respectful dialogue and awelcoming attitude. Paulson, Groves, and Hagedorn also provide a useful discussion of humanservices programs’ admissions and conduct gatekeeping considerations related to potentialstudents with a history of convictions. Classroom and faculty/staff conversations may serve as aproductive starting point for discussions regarding goodness of fit for different careers in humanservices.One of the educational partnerships Zoukis (2014) references is the Inside-Out PrisonExchange Program, which fosters conversation and learning between incarcerated people andcollege students. Inside-Out students regularly describe their experiences as life changing andextremely meaningful. This is not, as Zoukis states, because undergraduates are trained to teachin correctional institutions, but because they are open to the experience of learning side by sidein a correctional setting in a group composed of half students who are incarcerated and halftraditional college students. The equalization of power and mutual learning is an importantaspect of the Inside-Out program, making it a superb learning experience for human servicesstudents. Being equals with individuals who are incarcerated allows students to see issues ofincarceration and education in a new light. They come to respect and admire their “inside”classmates, which surprises many of them and inspires them to step outside the mindset of beinga savior whose role is to help or uplift the prisoners. This is an important component of socialjustice education and critical thinking for our undergraduates.Zoukis (2014) is not highly or explicitly critical of the underlying assumptions behind thedenial of education to incarcerated people. It would be useful for instructors to help studentsexamine the current and historical political forces that have led to the U.S.’s contemporary prisonindustrial complex. In this regard, Zoukis may be taught as one component in a constellation ofreadings that include Davis’s (2003) Are Prisons Obsolete? and Alexander’s (2012). The NewJim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.ReferencesAlexander, M. (2012). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness.New York, NY: The New Press.Davis, A. Y. (2003). Are prisons obsolete? New York, NY: Seven Stories Press.Paulson, J., Groves, L., and Hagedorn, L. A. (in press). Advocacy in action: Supporting humanservices students with a criminal justice history. In S. D. Kerewsky (Ed.), Fitness for thehuman services profession: Preliminary explorations Alexandria, VA: Council forStandards in Human Service Education.Zoukis, C. (2014). College for convicts: The case for higher education in American prisons.Jefferson, NC: McFarland