1. What are some of the curriculum materials specific to your discipline? Are they adequate? Where do they come from and have you had to make any modifications to the curriculum based on industry changes? What do you think about this?
Curriculum materials specific to the discipline of law enforcement vary with the subject matter. For example, in-service training in emergency management consisted of self-study distance learning and test taking that was conducted virtually entirely via Internet. This included a series of standardized forms that are used in emergency situations, and first responders are expected to be completely familiar with how they are to be used. Hands-on emergency training, such as first aid training, involves use of bandages and tapes, as well as films, slide shows, and CD training for self-study. Police training, as one might expect, uses accessories that people are familiar with from TV: flashlights, badges, holsters, handcuffs, batons, and weapons. It should be noted that possessing the items is not the same as knowing how to use them. There is, for example, a right and many wrong ways to use a baton; in-person instruction, plus a host of audiovisual aids, also come into play. Training in use of computers, weapons, and vehicles involves separate exercises; specialized in-depth training is necessary for those who enter specialized areas of service. Curriculum changes have been made in response to legal mandates regarding arrest and control procedures; for example, choke holds were banned some years ago as inappropriate use of police power. There is often resistance to mandated changes to established practices; however, law enforcement has learned that reality has to govern attitudes. Training in this area is not informal or flexible but tightly regulated.
2. Having read the variety of curriculum materials identified in the text, can you identify any new (or creative uses) of materials you had not previously ...