Leadership magazine Sept/Oct 2015 V45 No 1 | Page 27

to fatal results – has been on the minds and
in the hearts of tens of thousands of Americans. This is especially true for educators,
who spend our lives caring about youth,
guiding them to bright futures and preparing them to be leaders so they can better our
world.
The news reports that have been airing
with far too much regularity these days
about unjustified shootings, severe beatings,
fatal chokings and uncalled for rough treatment are inspiring educational professionals to not only take notice, but to want to do
something to stop it.
The educational process is typically seen
as a two-pronged system – one that delivers
academics and plays a key role in equipping
young people to live a good life and achieve
success. This double responsibility, which
is appropriate for a 21st century paradigm,
came about because the equipping side of
this equation makes good sense due to the
circumstances of students’ lives, and because it is a proactive and future-building
thing to do.
In California, teachers and school administrators recognize that equipping young
people to be successful allows schools to
play a critical role in ensuring their futures
and sustaining our communities. I would
like to propose that teaching students how
to thoughtfully interact with the police and
build relationships with police officers will
safeguard our students’ lives and promote a
healthy society for all.
This article will outline some ideas and
activities that can lead to educators being
natural partners in addressing the important
issues of true justice, legitimate policing and
the building of community trust, as we help
to keep our young people safe.
The material that I share here is meant to
serve as inspiration to help teaching professionals to create learning experiences. The
information may loosely reflect curriculum
goals as well, but the primary focus is life
skills training.
The activities and assignments can be
adapted to students that are from a range of
grade levels and across a variety of ages and
abilities. Since I am not a classroom teacher,
I will not be outlining specific recommendations, only certain ideas and concepts. How

Educational activities for all grade levels
n  Assignment idea #1: Sharing experiences
Ask your students to take five minutes to write a description of an encounter that they
had with police or other law enforcement professionals in your community. (If a student
has never interacted with police, suggest that he or she write about an experience of a
friend or relative, or something they have watched or read about in the media.) Allow
several volunteers to share what they’ve written and invite the class to react, make comments and/or ask questions.
Are the experiences they shared similar?
Did others have encounters that were dramatically different? Based on the discussion,
facilitate the development of a statement that
students believe generally describes policing
practices in your area.

n  Assignment idea #2: Research
Have your class work in groups to develop a
class report on your local police department.
This activity is related to project-based learning. Divide the class into several groups of
three to six students. The members of each group should have a partner to buddy with
to complete the work, as well as participate in their six-person group as a whole, so each
group will have three sets of researchers. Give each group a “research assignment” related
to your local police. Here are some ideas:

• Hiring: What qualifications does the police department look for in potential officers?

Is there a shortage of officers? Is there a high turnover rate? Do they recruit specific types
of people? Does the department consider it important for officers to live in the community in which he or she will serve? What is the average pay of a police officer in your area?

• Training: How are recruits trained for their role as police officers? What percentage
of their training focuses on crime fighting tactics? On community service and/or people
skills? Is there training regarding unconscious bias or race relations?

•  Operational guidelines: What is the mission of the police department? What priorities are emphasized in the official guidelines? What are some examples of appropriate responses to situations of conflict, as outlined by the local police manual? Are their
guidelines about the use of force and/or deadly force?
• Accountability: What statistics are kept by the police department related to officer
activities? How will officers be held accountable for adhering to department standards of
conduct? What is the department’s disciplinary record? What are the three most common
complaints from the community regarding police practices? Have there been any highly
publicized incidents related to police violence? What are the most recent incidents?

•  Community relations: What does the police department see as its greatest contribution to the community? How does it measure its success? In what areas is the department