ABSTRACT
By the third or fourth week many of the probationers are arriving early and saying hello to one another as they walk in, a big change. A strange new appetite for school has been aroused in them, partly by the vital questions raised in our readings but mostly, I think, because they are drawn to our convivial classroom in the midst of bleak and arid lives—no mirage but a true oasis where food for thought is abundant, and drink for thirsty spirits.
