Leadership magazine Sept/Oct 2015 V45 No 1 | Page 28

police displayed permanently in your classroom. And, if you do this exercise more than
once, please keep adding to the list of things
that students should avoid. You might also
wish to review the list of things to avoid
with your students from time to time to keep
them fresh in their minds.
Bonus activity: Let the students know that
you support them to take ownership of this
list, and that they will be allowed to work on
the important tips they are compiling in the
future if they have new suggestions or wish
to talk about anything related to the list.
n  Exercise #2: Interviewing your local

police officers

ever, I do work in schools and districts, and I
often help educational professionals accomplish their goals in academics as well as life
skills support.
My premise is a simple one, captured in
these three powerful points:
1. Students, especially youth of color, need
to learn how to be in relationships with the
police in a conscious and safer manner, and
assist in the process of growing mutual respect.
2. The police, and all law enforcement
professionals, need to recognize that they
are being held accountable by students, but
also that students need them to be good role
models.
3. Harmful perceptions must be uncovered in both police and in our students,
particularly targeting explicit/implicit bias,
fear, mistrust and other behaviors that must
be replaced.

Communication skills: Exercises
n  Exercise #1: Non-inflammatory interaction role-play and practice
(Use entire class period. Also, this exercise can be repeated in future classes.)
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Leadership

• Inform your students that they will be
engaging in a “role play.”
• Have the class suggest an “encounter
with police” scenario they’d like to work
with.
• Vote to select one or two scenarios.
(Each group will do their own version of a
scenario.)
• Allow the class to break up into small
groups to practice the role-play.
• Some members of each group will act
out the scene.
• Other members in each group will provide feedback about “inf lammatory” elements.
• Review the best examples of not inciting
violence or creating an inflammatory situation.
Students should be encouraged to act as
leaders and serve as wise mentors to each
other as they engage in this exercise. Please
tell your students that their ideas and efforts
can greatly improve the outcomes they have
heard about.
I highly recommend that you keep the examples of how to avoid creating an inflammatory situation when interacting with the

Have your students interview a police officer or law enforcement professional to obtain
information about how they conduct themselves on the job, and how they react during encounters with suspects in their line of
work. This can be done by inviting a police
officer to your classroom, by organizing a
panel discussion with several officers and law
enforcement professionals, or by going on a
field trip to your local police department to
interview officers. The goal is to get answers
to useful questions and build relationships.
Here are some sample questions:
1. What are you trained to do when suspects run away and/or try to resist arrest?
2. What have you learned about racial
profiling and unconscious bias? How are you
using what you’ve learned on your job?
3. What are some of the things a suspect
might be doing that cause you to react with
force in an encounter with them? Please be
specific.
4. What can you suggest to young people
(and others) to help them to avoid inflammatory situations with the police? Please give us
a list of at least three things to avoid doing.
5. What would you like youth to know
about how to grow mutual respect and build
shared trust?
6. Do you have children? If so, what do
you teach your children about interacting
with the police?
7. If you were a mentor to a young person,
what things would you make sure that they
know to avoid, or definitely not do, when
they are engaged in an encounter with law
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