Part 1 and 2

In parts 1 and 2, we're going to watch an episode of Girls Incarcerated, an American documentary television that follows the teenage inmates of the Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility in Madison, Indiana. At the bottom of the page, you can find the Goals we're working on today.

 

In class, we're going to watch the episode in roughly 2 parts. There are questions that will have to be answered before, during, and after watching. The goal of this watching and listening exercise on one hand is to practice your English skills. On the other hand, we hope to have an open and safe discussion relating to the topics in the video.

Questions before watching.​

  1. What is a Juvenile Correctional Facility?
  2. What do you expect the girls to be like?
    1. Age
    2. Educational level
    3. Family situation
    4. Ethnic background
    5. Mental health
    6. Type of friends
    7. Other influences
  3. What do you expect the crimes the girls have committed to be like?
  4. What do you expect the Juvenile Correctional Facility to be like? Think for example of the facilities the building might have or the activities they might offer.
  5. What do you expect the staff of the facility to be like?
  6. What do you think the goal(s) of a Juvenile Correctional Facility should be?
  7. a. What do you know about youth criminality in The Netherlands? What types of crimes are commited and by what type of young people?
    b. Check whether you were right here: https://longreads.cbs.nl/jeugdmonitor-2022/criminaliteit/

 

Questions while watching:

Open these questions to answer while watching

 

 

Questions after watching:

speaking

  1. Before watching, you were asked what you expected the girls to be like.
    - Were your assumptions correct?
    - Were there any prejudices in your answer?
  2. If you think about the girls you’ve seen in the video, what are some of the similarities between them that might have led to their incarceration?
  3. Before watching, you were asked what you thought the types of crimes these girls committed were. Were you right? How come you did(n’t) expect this?
  4. Several adults were shown doing their job in this episode; would you enjoy doing their job? Why (not)?
  5. The highest juvenile recidivism rates were 76% within three years and 84% within five years. Recidivism is a person’s tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behaviour. If you think about the four girls that were in the spotlight this episode, which of them do you think are/were in danger of recidivism? Why?
    You can check whether you were right on this website: https://thecinemaholic.com/girls-incarcerated-season-1-cast-where-are-they-now/

 

Writing

You've hopefully lead a very different life so far than the girls featured in the series, maybe because you have some privileges in your life that they do not have. A privilege is a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. For example, in the context of the series, a stable family to grow up in could be one of the privileges that some children have and others not.
You're going to write about how your life is similar or different to the girls in the video, taking those privileges in mind. Take another look at the statistics of youth criminality in the Netherlands, and think about your answer to the question 'If you think about the girls you’ve seen in the video, what are some of the similarities between them that might have led to their incarceration?'. Then try to answer the following question in an essay of ~250 words:

Why are you (not) susceptible to committing crime? Explain the most important influences in your life.

 

Goals Watching and Listening: 1) Ik begrijp wat mij verteld wordt, wat iemand ergens van vindt. 2) Ik begrijp de hoofdpunten van een discussie, een gesprek over muziek, acitiviteit, onveiligheid op straat, milieu. 3) Ik volg de presentatie van een klasgenoot. 4) Ik begrijp instructies van mijn docent. 5) Ik begrijp films over vertrouwde onderwerpen, documentaires en hoofdpunten.

Goals Writing: 1) Ik noteer de belangrijkste punten van een artikel. 2) Ik schrijf een kort verslag over iets wat ik gedaan en gezien heb. 3) Ik reageer op een verhaal van anderen. 4) Ik geef mijn mening. 5) Ik schrijf over een ervaring, persoonlijke reactie op een film/boek of een zelfverzonnen verhaal.