By Chris Yow
Editor
PINSON — Interesting, fun and exciting are rarely words used to describe a high school classroom, but somehow Juan Rodriguez has made those adjectives fit.
A 30-year veteran of law enforcement, Rodriguez began teaching a public safety course at Pinson Valley High School just three years ago. The class was split into three different courses, and Rodriguez said he’s seen a lot of interested students come through his classroom.
“Students go through our law and public corrections class first. They learn about an overview of everything in law enforcement,” he said. “It’s kind of an umbrella class.”
After they go through that, Rodriguez said he likes for them to go into the police patrol class, but they can go into either that or the forensics class.
“In the police patrol class, we are more hands-on. We do security checks, we check parking lots for decals, use radio for communication,” Rodriguez said. “After they take the first class, they have a better idea of what they want to do. In police patrol, we have a lot of things related to what is done at the police academy. It’s more focused on more of what a police officer would do, like write tickets and patrol the parking lots. We look at how to deal with scenarios that otherwise, they wouldn’t be exposed to before the academy.”
Students interested in going into law enforcement as a career have found the classes to be incredibly beneficial.
Senior Jovasea Whitlow said he was glad he took the classes.
“I’ve already talked to some of the deputies and when I turn 21, I want to go into law enforcement,” he said. “I know so much about it thanks to this class.”
Tyler Duke, a junior, has a family history of public service as his dad is a firefighter and his mother is a police officer. So, following in his parents’ footsteps, this class has certainly prepared him for his future.
“I plan to get a 2-year degree and go into the academy. When I get there, I’ll be one step ahead because this is a preview of what I’m going to do there,” Duke said.
Being one step ahead of the curve going into the academy is one of the main goals for Rodriguez.
“This is gearing them up to go into the real world,” he said. “We try to make it as real as we can here in a safe setting, so when they get ready to go to the academy, it really does put them ahead of the game. I wish I’d had something like this when I was in school.
“The last class actually does traffic stops, building searches, a lot of things you’ll do at the academy so when they leave here they’ll be one step ahead.”
Some students had no desire to get into law enforcement when they started, but have since changed their mind. Others are taking a second class in the series just because they enjoy the knowledge they’ve gained.
Eduardo Vega said he was just interested to see what it was about. After taking the classes, he said he still isn’t sure about law enforcement as a career, but he saw things differently than before taking the class.
“At first, I didn’t know if I wanted to do this, but I wanted to learn about how the law works,” he said.
Rodriguez said his class watches some of the popular police shooting videos in class to gain a perspective for why police officers are doing everything they do in those situations.
“I watch things with a different perspective. When I see things on social media I see them differently than my friends. I watch those videos like I am watching them in this class,” Vega said.
Sophomore Ashley Lagunas was hesitant at first as well, but now? She’s considering it as a career.
“Mr. Rodriguez teaches this class well,” she said. “I didn’t think I was going to like it, but when he was teaching I got interested in it as a career. I’d like to be a police officer now.”
Rodriguez was quick to note that a police officer or firefighter isn’t a bad job.
“A lot of these kids may not go to college, but you can go into law enforcement or firefighting when you get out of high school. It’s a very viable job, it pays good money, it’s honest work,” he said.
They even help the students go through the process of how to apply and obtain jobs in the field, taking each of those students from beginning to end in the process of working in public safety.
“We’re showing them the evolution of getting into law enforcement, what you can and can’t do and — more importantly — how to get the job. We take them on the website, and show them how to apply online, what the criteria is for each city. We jump through the hoops of the Jefferson County Personnel Board and show them everything they need to know,” Rodriguez said.
Most of all, though, every single student agreed on one thing Duke said: “This class is fun.”
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Sherry Lynn Moore
Tyler Duke