Week 8

Another week in the books. Overall, this was a long but fun week. Played golf twice and joined the group for Karaoke Thursday. Good times. Had some really good group discussions during the breakout sessions this week. These are good exercises to open your mind when you hear what your teammates think about a particular situation. These sessions can also be a little frustrating. When you break out and you have 30 minutes to discuss the problem, come up with a solution, and build a group presentation, it's not much time.

What did I learn this week?
This is not really related to classroom learning, but I gained a new appreciation for the members of the class from corrections. My previous experience with corrections officers was limited to the Wayne County deputies I worked with while employed there. Wayne County jail deputies tend to be not very motivated. I spent a fair amount of time this week with Brian Newcomb, Jennifer Hull, and Monique Tank. They are all smart, motivated people, that are obviously passionate about their work responsibilities. They have changed my opinion and opened my eyes to the good people in their profession.

What could I have done differently that might have impacted my performance for the better?
We had many group discussions and break-out sessions this week. Even though the assignments require us to have a team leader, scribe and timekeeper for each session, we did not always do that. Of the numerous sessions this week, I acted as a team leader only once. I could have volunteered for this position and led the discussion more often.

How will my real-world behavior change as a result of what I learned / experienced this week?
The session with Inspector Bolger was very interesting, but raised a lot of questions for me. When back on duty next week, I plan to research our policies on personnel files, and look more into where those are located, who has access, etc.