I know that it has been a while since I have written
an entry. While I have had a lot of
things inspire a blog entry, I have not had much time and/or interest in
writing. Because of this, I am taking a little
time now to do so.
I just finished my yearly In-Service with the Nebraska
Department of Correctional Services yesterday.
It’s a week long series of classes.
Some of them, like fire safety and report writing are required by
everyone. Others, like PPCT (Pressure Point
Control Tactics) are only required for those who have direct Inmate contact. As a Unit Case Worker, I have to not only
take ‘basic self-defense,’ but more advanced defense and control tactics in
order to protect myself and other staff from an aggressive Inmate.
This past week was enjoyable and challenging. Because I am a certified ASHI (American
Safety and Health Institute – https://emergencycare.hsi.com/)
First Aid and CPR qualified, instead of taking the First Aid/CPR class, I
taught part of it. Although I had a bit
of a rough start, I did manage to keep it interesting and informative. I focused on the First Aid part while the
Training Specialist, in charge of the In-Service classes, taught the CPR
part. This was good because we had a
large class, so out tag teaming it broke it up into more manageable groups. That was a lot of fun!
Because my back problems flared up last week, while on
a short vacation or all things, I was really worried about the self-defense
part this past week. However, since God
evidently wants me to stay where I am at, He enabled me to not just partake in
the class, but to participate normally.
That is, although my back bothered me at times, it did not limit me in
what I could do. And, since martial arts
is something I have always been very interested in, I really got a good workout,
for two days straight.
In fact, the Training Specialist joked with me
yesterday morning, the day after all of the PPCT/self-defense training. Because of all that I did in training, she
was not expecting me to be in class yesterday.
I then told her that, quite frankly, I was astounded that I was not in
excruciating pain myself.
Now, I just have to finish my on-line portion of my In-Service. This is the part that I am not overly
thrilled about. Having grown up on the
70s and 80s, my preference is the ‘traditional classroom.’ While I can learn from an online course, it
just isn’t the same as attending the class, having a physical book(s), and
being able to actively interact with the instructor and other students. It just isn’t as enriching.
Now, there are some on-line things that I have been
actively taking advantage of that I do like.
For example, I am really enjoying Duolingo (https://www.duolingo.com/). I am using it to maintain my German language
skills and learn Spanish. Although it’s
not nearly as good as actually partaking in a class, it is set up in such a way
as to enable a person to learn another language. Of all the different ‘learn-at-your-own-pace’
books and programs that I have tried over the years, this one is one of the
best. In my opinion…
At
least the training that I am doing for the Nebraska Department of Corrections
isn’t as intense and annoying as some of the Army training that I have done
over the years. For example, the ‘Accident
Avoidance’ course that I’ve taken yearly since 2003 has not changed at
all. It not only has the same person
narrate it, while wearing ‘old school’ BDUs, which were replaced by the ACUs many
years ago, but the scenarios have not changed.
And, since you can’t skip though things, one is forced to sit through
the exact…same…annoying…unchanging…scenario…
To me, that is a very good definition of ‘death by PowerPoint.’
I
also had to do many other classes in order to be able to promote to Staff
Sergeant and for being a ADSO (Additional Duty Safety Officer) for my
unit. The on-line course for promotions,
SSD2 (Self-Structured Development, I believe) was very long and tiring. Don’t get me wrong… There was a lot of good things in the
course. And, much of it was definitely important
things to know and understand so that I could be a good mid-level leader. However, the class’ approach and teaching
style often left a lot to be desired. At
least for me, it was not very engaging at times.
I do
know that everyone learns differently.
What works well for one person may not work as well for someone
else. For me, on-line classes have to be
done in a very engaging way, and be something that I am really interested in,
for it to be effective and enjoyable. And,
I do understand that many large corporations/organizations do a lot of the on-line
training because it cuts down on their cots.
Understandable…
Oh,
well… In a little bit, I will return to
my on-line training for NDCS and continue to plod through it. After that, I will do some on-line training
that I really enjoy. That is, the
Duolingo course. I will also probably engage
in one of my new hobbies this weekend.
Well, finish something from a new hobby.
More about that later, though…
In
closing, I definitely do encourage all of you to continue to learn and
grow. Find avenues, be it from an
instructor in a class, from YouTube videos, or from a book, to learn new things
and improve skills that you already have.
The more you learn, the more you better your life and the lives of those
around you.
In Christ,
Ray
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