After a three week course, the newest class of Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Certified Law Enforcement Instructors recently graduated from Ogeechee Technical College’s Law Enforcement Academy.
The course begins with instruction on instructor liability, andragogy(adult education), communications and presentation skills, classroom management, instructional systems design, lesson planning, testing and evaluation, practical exercise construction, teaching methods, and managing training aids. Students were then required to pass a written examination with a minimum grade of 80% in order to proceed.
Week two of the course required students to write a detailed lesson plan, which had to comply with very strict standards to progress to the final week of the course.
The third and final week of the course, students were required to construct an hour-long presentation. The presentation was evaluated by groups of veteran law enforcement Instructors who determined if the candidates would earn the title of POST Certified Instructor.
The OTC Law Enforcement Academy conducts the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council General Instructor Course at least once a year. The academy also offers additional instructor courses for graduates to be able teach high-liability subjects, such as firearms and defensive tactics. Those courses are also offered at least once a year.
From the Press Release:
Despite the fact that law enforcement agencies generally send their best officers to instructor courses, the classes normally sustain a 50% or greater attrition rate. “It’s a really difficult class that requires an enormous amount of work to be successful,” said Deputy Sheriff Robert Brantley, a 2013 graduate of the Ogeechee Technical College Law Enforcement Academy, who currently works for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. Officer Terrell Lewis, of the Statesboro Police Department, said “despite, or perhaps even due to the difficulty, this class was the most rewarding class I’ve ever completed.”
“These officers should be proud of themselves. For most of them, this is the most challenging course they will take in their career,” said OTC Law Enforcement Academy Director Jim Mitchell.
