This past week my class and I began our OPOTA certification. In the weeks leading up to this I was dreading starting OPOTA because i figured it would be really boring and difficult to follow. We covered two topics the first week, them being Role Of Private Security and Overview Of The Legal System. Mr. Lavery makes it really easy to follow the course by making the power points less dull and by giving us lectures that make the material more understandable. I feel now that OPOTA is not going to be as bad as I thought but am still nervous about the actual exam at the end of the course.

911 Dispatch

In class we completed our 911 dispatch certification. Our instructor took us through the course in two weeks as we learned all we need to know to be a dispatcher. Every day we would go through 1-3 chapters and take a quiz after completing each chapter. The quizzes had all the questions that were gonna be on the final exam. Our final exam was 100 questions, 50 multiple choice and 50 true and false. All of my classmates and I passed the exam on the first try where you needed atleast an 80% to pass. The class was tough but also fun, our instructor made it easier to understand and follow by telling stories she has heard about or experienced herself.

Week 3 Criminal Justice

Our class started this week by reviewing. We talked about the material we learned last week which was revolved around terrorism since the tenth anniversary of 9/11 was this past Saturday. On the subject of 9/11, we looked at the memorials website and checked out all the features of the new Apple app for the memorial. We recalled how there were many missed oppurtunities to prevent the attack and went into detail on the eight signs of terrorism. We learned the history of terrorism and how its mainly over religious views.
The last two days of class we spent watching the tv show "Surviving Disaster". The first episode we watched Navy Seal Cade Courtley showed us how to react and handle the situation if you were on a plane being hijacked. He went step by step in the scenerio showing us how to first react, take out the terrorists, gain back control of the plane, treat injuries and land the plane. I think that this was really good way to learn because it doesnt just tell you how to but also shows you in a realistic scenerio.
The next episode we watched was about a terrorist group entering a mall and launching a very strategic attack. We were shown to handle this when all your emergency exits are blocked and your up against assault rifles. We learned how to treat a gunshot wound when you dont have proper first aid supplies. Lastly in the video we learned how to approach the SWAT team when your able to escape so that do not think you are a foe.
We are gonna finish off the week tomorrow by taking a test on all the things we learned about terrorism. After that were gonna do flight simulations to learn how to fly and land a plane, I'm really excited to do this.

Week 2

This week we started out on Tuesday by having a substitute and taking a test on the information we learned on terrorism the week before. The test was ten questions and they were mostly multiple choice with a bonus short response question at the end. After taking the test our class was given an assignment. We were to search the many different websites on the sheet that were agency sites and describe them. All the agencies we covered were anti-terrorism and all covered different parts of protecting our country.

On Wednesday we finished and went over the different agencies that were on the sheet given to us on tuesday. Our class compared and contrasted the different agencies and went into detail about each like when they were founded and why. After doing that we began to watch a documentary titled 9/11. It was intended to just be about a rookie fire fighter going through his probationary period and show what was expected of him during it. It showed life in the fire house and how all the fire fighters were like one big family. This documentary became a testament of how heroic and brave many can be in the face of hell and absolute terror and destruction. It showed a point of view look at what it was like to be on the street and even in the building as people jumped to their deaths and as the buildings collasped and everything around them was covered in dust. Sadly it was for some, the last time they saw their family members who were rescuers in the buildings and lost their lives doing so.

On Thursday we began the day by finishing up watching the documentary. After doing this we had a class discussion on what we thought of it and what we felt. Next came alot of typing, we were given an assignment to write down what we remember from 9/11 like where we were and what we were doing when we found out what had happened. We were asked to describe what we felt when we found out and how we and others around us reacted. After doing this we listened to the first radio broadcast on Officer.com as our teacher Mr. Lavery was a guest on the show and described his knowledge being an anti-terrorism instructor and what was going through his head on that day.

Finally on Friday we began the day by taking notes and watching a video on the "Eight Signs of Terrorism" surveillence, ellicitation, test of security, funding, acquiring supplies, impersonation, rehersal and deployment. After learning these we were told to read through The 11 September Hijacker Cell Model and determine if any of the signs were missed by the government before 9/11.

Week 1: Criminal Justice

This past week in class we began learning about terrorism and the many different types of groups associated with it. The definition of terrorism is violence for effect, it is the theater of the obscene. Terrorism is aimed at the people that are watching. Locations of terrorist acts are usually special, being of either financial, political and religious significance. It is the calculated use of violence or threat of violence strike fear into the country attacked. Terrorism is generally used to intimidate governments or societies in pursuit of their goals that are usually political, religious or idealogical.

I learned that terrorism is a form of a hate crime. Hate crimes are crimes against a group of people based on race, religion or beliefs. These types of crimes are carried by extremist organizations and take place pretty much everywhere around the world. We learned what a supremacist is, any person(s) maintaining the ideology, quality, state of being, or position superior to all others in something. A group of individuals banded together usually along racial or ethnic lines and are prone to violent behavior are gangs and generally bare associated with hate crimes. We learned that an Extremist Organization advocates racial, gender, or ethnic hatred or intolerance. They engage in illegal discrimination and use violence to deprive people of their rights given by the constitution.

The KKK, Black Panther Party, Neo Nazi National Association, Westboro Baptist Church and many others are known as extremist groups. A prominent theme of these groups is to be superior of one race or group over another. Some groups use violence to try and reach their goal of superiority. Some of these groups look to overthrow our government, ignore the courts, refuse to pay taxes and blame minorities and jewish citizens for problems in the United States. There are quite a few warning signs for extremist groups such as tattoos, graffiti or symbols, clothing like doc martins. Some read unusual books and visit unusal websites on the internet.

On the subject of terrorism we learned about the different defcons and what each means. Defcon five means the world is at peace, defcon four means we are on watch, things heating up and forces on alert also what we are in now is defcon three, defcon two means big stuff is happening and everyone knows. We have only been in defcon two twice, during the cuban missle crisis and on 9/11. Defcon one means the buttons are pushed and it is total war across the world. I learned that ICBM stands for intercontinental Balistic Missle.

The last thing we discussed this week was the 9/11 attacks and how the FBI missed many warning signs that could have possible prevented the attacks from happening. We compared and contrasted the FBI pre and post 9/11 to show the changes they made to how things are ran in the organization after the major anti terrorism failure. We learned about John O'neil and how his prediction came true and that no one would believe him because they did not like his way of operating.

Start of Senior Year

The start of my senior year has been a lot less crazy than years past. Normally I would have been changing classes around or going through two-a-days for football. This year though I decided that playing football would not be good for my knee and that I also like my schedule going into the school year. I am excited for this year because I'm taking two classes that could have an impact on my future career with journalism at Berea, and Criminal Justice at Polaris. I am excited for the next school year at both Polaris and Berea and I hope to pick up more knowledge that will benefit me in the future on my way to graduation on June 5th, 2012.

This past summer I spent most of time with my friends hanging out and just enjoyed my summer. At the beginning of summer I umpired for the Berea Baseball Association, which I have done for five years now. Also this summer I did conditioning and rehab exercises for baseball as i prepare for my senior season with the Berea Braves baseball team. I went to Cedar Point for the first time in my life this summer and rode everything, it was a great experience and I hope to go back soon. Overall I had a great summer and am happy it will be my last as a highschool student. I cannot wait to graduate!