Fendenheim- Ellet CLC

I am Erik Fendenheim. I currently teach criminal justice at Ellet CLC in Akron Ohio. I was a police officer for the city of Akron for 7 years before taking this position. I have 1 year of teaching experience so far. I am still a reserve police officer for Akron. This allows me to go work the streets and keep up with any changes in law enforcement. I also get to keep all my equipment which comes in handy when doing hands on activities with my students.

Online resources:

1. Codes.Orc.Gov (Ohio criminal law codes)

2. Youtube.com (LivePD clips are very useful)

3. Amazon Prime Video ( Catching Killers show is wonderful. I have packets that go along with each episode)

4. Apcointl.org ( Dispatch online training)

5. Ohleg.org (Online training for law enforcment)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_WbL5OOoaaTgx_cL_gvjoBGR-HtZ2V-A/view?usp=sharing

Best practices for teaching criminal justice.

1. Leave the personal bias out. This is difficult. I am a street cop. Many students are taking my class to make a difference. I have a responsibility to teach them how the system works and do so with an open mind.

2. Bring personal experience and stories into class. Teaching a class on criminal law can be dry and boring. Students relate to the material better if they can hear a personal story of how I applied what we are learning to my actual daily encounters with the public.

3. Use humor when appropriate! Students know our subject matter is difficult and can be traumatic. I try to use humor to keep the tension down.

4. Role play as much as you can. Learning about arresting people is interesting but getting to put handcuffs on your teacher who is playing a robber/thief/drug dealer is even more fun!

5. Use technology as often as possible. Use of force simulators are an extremely effective tool for teaching police use of force. The students feel like they are playing a game but they are thrust into a real scenario with rapidly involving events that is hard to mimic in a traditional classroom.

Working with stakeholders.

We have meetings with my advisory board members a few times a year. I think it is very important for them to know what I am teaching in the classroom. I am trying to prepare these students to go out and make an impact in the field. I need my advisory members to know how I am doing that so they can provide me with feedback. I welcome their ideas in how to improve our curriculum. For my student organization I have partnered with the Akron Police Explorers. Any student of mine that is interested in joining has their fees paid for by the school. The police explorers meet twice a month at the police station and are taught by detectives and other officers. The officers and detectives put the explorers through police training scenarios and judge the cadets on how they react. There is a statewide competition every April. Students compete against other explorer teams in domestic violence scenarios, suspicion persons, bomb threats, first aid, active shooter, and a physical obstacle course.