Educating students about the negative effects of committing a crime has recently become a contentious issue in society. While having ex-prisoners give a talk to youngsters is advantageous in a few aspects, I disagree with the view that this is the best way to warn them against breaking the law.
It seems that inviting former criminals to share their experiences with pupils is beneficial in reducing juvenile crimes for certain reasons. By listening to them, young individuals are exposed to real-life consequences associated to crimes, thus forming a clear understanding of the punishments, emotional distress and difficulties in rehabilitation they directly suffered. In some cases, schools even organize educational visits to prisons to have students witness the harsh reality of being a prisoner. Such action further creates a strong emotional experience among children, then develops a fear of legal punishments which prevents them from taking part in criminal activities.
Despite these benefits this approach offers, I am of the opinion that incorporating criminology into schools’ curriculum is more effective. This form of education enables all students, including those who are not able to attend awareness programs or visit the imprisonment center, to learn about the hazards related to crimes in a more systematic way. Such educational method provides pupils with adequate knowledge about laws and crimes in an organized program. As a result, while talks from rehabilitated criminals and trips to prisons rarely take place, regular criminology lessons have a long-term impact on children, which later become imprinted on their mind.
Because of all reasons above, it is more convincing to me that having ex-prisoners talk about their past experiences is not the best way to educate students. Instead, I think the measure of making criminology a subject should be implemented at schools.