The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.

-bell hooks

I take a justice-oriented approach to pedagogy. I want students to leave my courses knowing that theory and praxis are intimately connected. In each of my courses I encourage student to wrestle with the questions: Why does this matter? Who does this issue help? How does this issue harm?

My goal in teaching is to empower students with the ability to ask questions of the world around them, even as they interrogate their own assumptions about society.

Specifically, I have not only taught students about the criminal legal system but how to distinguish the difference between "justice" and "the law". As such, students in my criminal law course examine cases of legal injustice, hold a week long mock trial exercise and reflect and write about instances of injustice within the legal system. I have also hosted speakers engaged in community work, such as formerly incarcerated women.

I also recognize the importance of incorporating engaged learning opportunities within classroom learning. To this end, students have participated in court room observations, community hearings on criminal justice policy and incorporated their lyceum experiences in writing assignments. I have also had the privilege of teaching an engaged learning course, which involved students participating in a mentoring program at a Charlotte area business and traveling to Boston to collaborate with the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute to conduct an evaluation of their annual walk for peace.

COURSES TAUGHT

Race and Justice

Juvenile Justice

Introduction to Sociology

Criminal Law

Community and Police Relations (with Field Experience in Boston, MA)

Criminology