Letter to Future Students. Written by Law Enforcement Studies Students, JIBC, Winter 2017
(Note: I have used *** to designate that I have redacted all personal information and corrected minor typos. Other than the former changes, I have made no further changes to the originals.)
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Dear future diversity students, If you’re reading this letter, then that means you have just started your journey through this diverse society class, and let me say that you’re in for not only a fun semester, but also a very rewarding one. It is very important for one to realize all of the different diverse societies that we live in and are a part of. I am not going to sugar-coat it for you and say it will be an easy semester. You’re in for a tough class, but that is what post-secondary is all about. We as a cohort, had an amazing time in this class, and learned a great deal of information that will help all of us in our future careers. For me personally, the journals were something I had great success in and as long as you stay on track with these journals, you will do great. Something I would recommend you do that i did not was make sure to read the visual intelligence chapters thoroughly, because in order to successfully pass this course, you need to do well on these in-class quizzes. This class is tough, and rewarding. If you do your work on time and put in some effort, you will do great. This course will greatly assist you in your future career as a law enforcement officer, because it prepares you for what is out there in the real world. You will be interacting with people of all diverse backgrounds, and the last thing you would ever want to do is offend them. My last few words for you before I leave you is do not take this course for granted and make sure you work hard, because this class is tougher than you think. ***
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To: Future Students
The first day I attended Dr. Jessica’s class, I thought to myself “this is going to be the class where my brain rests and does not need to think too hard” and it was. There was thinking involved but there was never any pressure on my back in this class, it felt like a “break” from the other classes and during this “break” there was so much to leave and take from the material learnt. This class, in terms on assignments and tests, I felt like it was all reasonable and if you do the basic work that is assigned, nothing is difficult. What helped me the most was the way the lesson was taught in so much details and depth. This method is really helped to students that do not understand it the first time or need extra explanations for confirmation of what they are true. However, the only time I felt a little pressured on was the tests back-to-back every week in the March month. It became difficult to sit down and read the chapters and really absorb the understandings that Dr. Herman addresses in the chapter. Furthermore, the textbook novel that was assigned for this class was something I would read in the summer in a park siting alone relaxing. This novel was amazing because it has so much to give and the interest for this was endless. Every chapter elaborated on communication and the visual intelligence with greater examples and stories. All in all, the three things the stuck out to me was the in-class assignments where we draw faces or pictures for our partner, the food bank was a great experience and the novel felt like a gift to read. This course has helped me for my future by just reflecting, taking time to observe and understand every piece of information I received, and then act upon it. This class has taken me to see my future with brighter colours and clearer images. ***
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Welcome future student
to one of the best courses held in the Law Enforcement Studies Diploma at the Justice Institute of B.C! When I began this course I was excited and sceptical at the same time. I was ecstatic to know that I would be learning about social justice issues, however confused on what kind of format the course was held together with. Soon enough, I understood how this course operated and embraced the challenges and the knowledge that it held. Some of the success I had with this course was the Spice of Life video, Visual Intelligence in class activities and the Truth and Reconciliation graphic novel. All the material I listed above were challenging in their own way but very eye opening and rewarding. Some of the challenges I had in this course would have been doing the diversity observation journals and reading Visual Intelligence. The diversity observation journals were challenging for me because they forced me to think critically and analyze the situation from an emotional point of view. Reading and understanding the Visual Intelligence book was also challenging because a big chunk of the course was based around the reading material and a slip up can be detrimental to your success. After completing this course I could not be any more thankful towards Dr.J and the JIBC. This course challenged my weaknesses and opened up my eyes to the numerous injustices that people face around the world. Future Student, I urge you to embrace the challenges of this fantastic course and be prepared to come out as a more grown individual at the end of it all. ***
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Dear Future Diversity Student,
I am writing this for you today to try and help you in some possible way and guide you into the right direction. Even though I am still unsure about the direction I am going in I want to help you with this course and give you some words of wisdom. I was once in your position, I didn’t know what to expect from this course or what to even expect in my future studies. My best advice that I could give you is take one day at a time. Take one assignment on at a time, piece by piece don’t rush things and stress out because that will not help you it doesn’t ever help anyone. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help or assistance because at times we all need it. If you fall behind or miss assignments Jessica is extremely understanding and will help you in any way she can. I know that was what she did for me and some of the other people in my cohort. This course is very informative and eye opening, some of the things that you notice after you are done this course you probably didn’t notice before. It is important to recognize the fine detail of things. All in all I wish you luck on the future and everything that your journey has in store for you. Good luck! ***
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Welcome to your new semester students,
This class will prepare you for the future career you may choose to pursue in law enforcement. Along with the other classes you may be taking during your semester you may find this class challenging. I strongly recommend that try getting things done ahead of time therefore you will be not piling up on assignments. One challenging thing in this course I faced was keeping up with the readings, the teacher will assign certain chapters to be read make sure to keep current and ahead of the reading because the tests do get difficult. I started to read on the last day before the tests which resulted in poor performance on the quizzes. Therefore try reading in advance and make detailed notes to refer back to when the test day comes. Second there are 44 diversity journals that will be spilt into 4 sections and 10 will be due every 2 to 3 weeks. I strongly recommend trying to get 1 journal done a day. I tried to push it to the last few days to finish these journals; it was extremely overwhelming when you have too many journals to do. Third these journals will help you in the future career you may choose to pursue. The journals force you to observe constantly and be aware what is going on around you. Similarly law enforcement officer are mostly observing and categorizing people from what they see. Furthermore no one should be judged from the way they look or talk, make sure to clear up assumptions because they may not be necessarily true. This class will help you in notice the diversity issues that are happening, also will help you be a better observer. ***
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Dear Future Law Enforcement Student,
I hope you had a well rested break, and that you are ready to begin your studies at the Justice Institute of British Columbia! Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society was a class that really surprised me. I remember on the first day of class I was looking through the syllabus and felt incredibly overwhelmed by all of the different assignments and ways that we were going to be graded. Though you might feel overwhelmed like I did, I promise you that it was not bad at all. As long as you put effort into the assignments and show up ready to learn in class you will have no problem passing the course with flying colours. The first assignment we had to do was the “Spice of Life” video. I remember thinking, what does a law class have to do with food? It did not make much sense to me until the day we showed the class our videos and I realized that it was to show everyone how diverse we all are and that even the people who use the same spice would use it in completely different ways. Just like the interactions you have with the different people you will encounter as a law enforcement officer will be different every time. One of the most heartbreaking things that you will learn about is the way the Aboriginal peoples were treated when you do the Truth and Reconciliation graphic novels. When you put the information you learn into your own words in order to teach others, you really take in the information and think about it more in depth. Doing this assignment will be a good reminder that not every person has a happy past, and that you should always treat people kindly because you are not aware of the hard times they might have had to face. The last thing I want to talk about is the Diversity Observations. I learned a lot about myself when writing them. For the first journal package you might struggle through it a bit, but by the second, third, and especially the fourth, it becomes super easy and your brain will start automatically finding that blindspot or realizing why that issue affects you so personally. A tip I will leave you with is to not wait until the night they are due to post them all, and to write down that issue you had that day to keep it fresh in your mind. One of the most important things to get out of this class is how diverse of a society it is that we live in. We need to make sure as future law enforcement officers that we are not letting any sort of bias or assumption get in the way of our professionalism or the way we treat the people we will be encountering. And that we treat every person regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or class the same, with respect and kindness. I wish you luck with this class, and with whatever path you choose to take in the future! ***
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Dear future LESD student,
I hope your first day is going well so far! I remember my first day, I was so excited and nervous, and there were so many new things to take in! I hope what I tell you in this letter will help you in your Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society course throughout the semester. I remember on the very first class we had we were informed about “diversity observation” journals that we would be taking, and that we would have to hand in 40 by the end of the semester. I remember feeling extremely overwhelmed and nervous about these journals. My advice to you regarding the journals is to write them as soon as you notice a diversity issue around you, or make a note of it somewhere so you will not forget what happened. This really helped me during the semester because I always stayed on top of my journals and I ended up really enjoying doing them, it will be easier than you think to notice 40 diversity observations! As well as this will benefit our law enforcement career because it will really make you pay attention to things you never noticed before. The second thing I want to mention is the Visual Intelligence book you will have to read. It is an extremely interesting read, with tons of useful information. Make sure you read this and re-read it before the quizzes, I really enjoyed reading the book and found it very interesting, especially the aspects talking about law enforcement. This book will help us in our future career because it really makes you think and realize different perspectives of things. Lastly is the honour system bonus points. I did as many as these as I could in the beginning, but as the semester goes it gets busy and is difficult to do the bonus activities, so I would recommend doing as many as you can in the first two months! This will help us with our integrity in our law enforcement careers as it is based on the honour system. Good Luck with your semester! ***
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Dear Future Student,
I want to firstly welcome you to Diverse Society. In this course you will get the opportunity to learn not only about current thought-provoking events that are happening around the world; but also gain a stronger knowledge and a better understanding about yourself. This course personally has been a very valuable experience for me and I hope you are also able to take away from it as much as possible. In this class it will be required of you to submit weekly journals on Blackboard. These journals will consist of your diversity observations that you will be exposed too when out of the classroom setting. You will have a chance to people watch; which soon became a hobby of mine after this exercise. Writing these journals is going to help you in opening up your eyes to things that are happening around you. They will also give you an insight on how you personally interpret different behaviours. It may be at first challenging to fully grasp the concept behind making these observations. However, with time you will begin to see the benefits of making these observations and how they can be of great use to you. The “Spice Of Life” video you will be making was a very fun activity. You will get a chance to showcase your cooking talents and learn about different culture and foods. It was also a very nice way to learn more about the people in your class. Volunteering at the Food Bank was another amazing experience. Knowing you are making good use of your time and helping your community was very rewarding. This course allowed me to get to know myself better which is going to help me immensely in pursuing my passion and becoming a member with the Vancouver Police Department. To make sure you are successful in this course, please do keep up with your readings. The text for this course has a lot of information that will help you down the road in both your personal and professional life. I wish you all the very best and happy learning! ***
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Dear Future LAWS 1207 student,
I hope you are enjoying the LESD program so far. I am writing you this letter to give you a head start on what to expect during this course. The textbook for this course is quite beneficial to helping you observe instead of just seeing. Make sure to study for each quiz not only for a good mark but also to fully understand what the text is outlining. The textbook will help broaden your perspective and help you evaluate situations better. As well as studying for the quizzes, make sure you stay on top of the journals. They can come up very quickly if you forget about them. The first set of journals you write will be the most difficult but I promise you they will get easier. By journal package number four, you will not be able to narrow it down to ten entries. These journals will allow you to reflect on certain situations that happen in your everyday life and to also keep you accountable for working on your diversity skills. Along side these assignments the course will let you be able to step outside of your comfort zone and explore the world through observing. The food bank you will go to will make you appreciate the amount of time and effort volunteers put in. If you are not already volunteering somewhere, I would recommend you start. I thoroughly enjoyed this course as I hope you will too. I also hope that my letter will help you out through your time during this course. ***
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Dear Future Student,
First, congratulations on your acceptance into the program! To succeed in this program, two major diversity traits every student should possess are integrity, and empathy. Showing integrity starts with always doing the right thing when no one is looking. This can come in various forms, either in the workplace, or at social events. Also, empathy is all about looking at things from other individuals perspectives. Demonstrating empathy includes taking the time to understand another’s circumstances, without personal biases and beliefs getting in the way. In the course “Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society,” my greatest success were the quizzes where I was able to maintain 22.5/25 on my individual score; handing the assignments in on time was a success, and overall gaining a well rounded grade average – which will help me keep up my grade point average. Three course activities that I had challenges with were getting accustomed to handing in homework on blackboard, taking electronic based quizzes, and the amount of reading that was required in order to be successful on the quizzes in the course. Reflecting back on the course content, it has prepared me for my future in law enforcement by showing me what adequate non-verbal communication looks like, and how you should not let your biases become your prejudices. Another thing this course has taught me is that when trying to communicate factual information you should try and avoid any emotion because others will take note of it, even sometimes before you do. Overall, this course will teach any student how to objectively survey anything – from people to situations. Best of luck and may your journey be a great learning experience for you. ***
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Dear Future LAWS 1207 Student,
This is a very straightforward and honest letter that I wish I had had the chance to read before I started this class. LAWS 1207 can go either one of two ways. You can either do incredibly well or you can do horrible, there is really no in between. In order to be successful in this class there are a few things I would suggest you do. A) READ THE TEXTBOOK!! I cannot emphasize this enough. When I first saw the syllabus I honestly thought this class was going to be smooth sailing and I wouldn’t have to do too much but the one thing I learned fast was that I had to read the textbook. You will have tests throughout the semester and if you do not have an overall passing mark on these, you will not pass the class. B) Do the journals! Once again, if you do not complete the journals, you will not pass the class. Yes, they are repetitive but they are pretty simple. Just do them! You will find that you learn quite a lot from them. C) Participate in class and do any other homework Dr. J gives you! I am being honest here when I tell you that as long as you participate in class and do the little amount of homework Dr. J gives you, you will do awesome in this class! Honestly, at the beginning of this class, I really was not looking forward to taking this course but as the classes went by, I realized a lot about myself and the way I behave towards others. I learnt what my personal bias were and how to conduct myself without my biases affecting my actions. I learnt how harmful stereotypes can be and the affect they could have on my future career as a law enforcement officer if I let them. Throughout this class, you find out a lot about yourself and the people in your life and what things you may need to change in order to better yourself in preparation for your future career, no matter what that may be. My final piece of advice would be to keep an open mind. There are going to be some subjects within this class that you do not agree with, I know for me there were definitely a few, but try your best to keep an open mind and learn new perspectives because it will help you in the future. ***
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Dear future LESD student,
The course you are about to take is very interesting and a huge eye opener. It teaches you the seriousness or some of the issues going around the world, but also on how to deal with or fix them. One thing which I found was harder for me was starting up the diversity journals. Once you get into them and learn how to write them, it becomes a lot easier. They have personally taught me to look deeper into everyday incidents that you see or that have occurred to you. The videos that you also get the chance to see are the best. Watching ‘The Mask You Live In’ was such a strong and empowering video, and is something that will always stay with me. The message is amazing and teaches you issues that go around us that you may not know about. Having the chance to go to the food bank was awesome as well, and shows you just how much time and energy it takes to help families that are less fortunate. I was so happy and fortunate to be able to do that, and you should really take advantage of it. There are so many other cool parts to this course, and I have learned so much more about the world we live in. I hope you have a good time in this course, and that your time in this program and at this school is incredible. Good luck! ***
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Dear current JIBC student,
Hope you are doing well and have enjoyed your first semester. Welcome to LAWS 1207 Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society. I am writing this letter in hopes that I can help aid you inyour success in this class with my personal experiences. First thing I want to say is make sure you stay on top of your diversity journals. Try to make at least five entries per week or write down something that has impacted you in the day and come back to it at a later time. This was crucial for myself and other cohort members as we quickly found out time management was key to surviving this semester. Speaking of time management, I often found myself behind on the textbook readings, which is critical for the in-class quizzes. A great technique I used was to read the text as early as possible and apply the techniques in daily interactions to better familiarize myself with them. But one thing I noticed I had great success in was using these activities to find out more about myself by become aware of my own personal biases and learning to see things I would miss prior to this class. This class has greatly impacted the way I view the world and people in daily interactions. I have become more aware of how my actions or emotions can impact someone else and also seeing their point of view. This is crucial for law enforcement as you will be required to interact multiple times daily and awareness of diverse societies will result in more successful communications. I hope you reading this letter has given you some good advice and given you a preview of what is to come in this semester. Good luck on your studies and I hope you achieve your future aspirations. ***
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To: Future student
When I first started this class, I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. It wasn’t what I expected because I thought I would have a textbook and we would be sitting down for three hours and taking notes on diversity issues out in the world. First day of class we had to draw a comic and do a bunch of weird activities I that I thought were useless and weird. The perspective I had in the first class completely changed throughout the semester. I learned things about myself, the people around me, and my setting. I noticed things I never noticed before, even the smallest things like how people walk, or how they hold themselves on the sky train. The visual intelligence book opens your eyes and lets you see. The food bank was my second favorite thing from this diversity class. It made me feel humble and happy, knowing that all the hard work will help families in need. Meeting the families that received the food was also amazing, seeing smiles on their faces was the best feeling in the world. The last thing I will be taking with me out of this class is the lessons Dr. J has taught me. I can never forget how kind, strong, and hardworking this professor is. I would be really proud if I came close to be as great of a human being as Dr. J is. So my final advice to you is don’t judge a book by its cover. Don’t be like me and jump into conclusions right away on the first day and think this is a horrible class because in the end you will feel guilty you felt that way. Yes the journals sound like a lot of work but boy do they teach you such a valuable lesson. And all the little activities Dr. J makes us do, don’t complain and do them because Dr. J knows what she is doing. I really hope you enjoy this class as much as I did, and I hope you take with you valuable lessons into your future career in law enforcement. Good Luck! ***
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Dear JIBC Student,
Hope you had an amazing experience as a JIBC student during your first semester. I am writing this letter to welcome you into Dr. Motherwell’s LAWS1207 class. Accept this letter as a sincere advice from a previous LAWS1207 student. I would like to start off by advising you not to feel overwhelmed by looking at the course outline on your first day in this course because Dr. Motherwell will always be there to help with everything. By the end of this semester, you’ll be required to have completed 44 journal entries so make sure to finish them all by the deadlines given. At the beginning of this course, I thought of these journal entries as another assignment I had to finish to successfully complete this course, but they actually helped me develop better observation skills and understand my own emotions in different situations. These diversity observation journals will also assist you in understanding what the other person might be feeling and thinking in the situation you decide to discuss. Developing great observation skills will be beneficial for us as aspiring Law Enforcement officials because we need to have a good understanding of the things happening around us. Understanding what the victim, suspect and co-worker might be thinking or feeling in a conflict situation is another aspect of having effective observation skills. As a student in Dr. Motherwell’s class, you will have the opportunity to visit the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and meet a Syrian family, which will be absolutely humbling experiences for you. Wish you nothing but the best in the future and hope you achieve every goal you’ve set for yourself. I hope this letter will help you better prepare and motivate you in giving your one hundred percent. Good luck! ***
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Dear future student,
I hope your first week of school has been treating you well so far. I vividly remember sitting in your seat a semester ago. It is important to remember that this class is like no other. You have to cherish every moment of it, and thrive for greatness in it. I had many ups and downs throughout this course, but of course I learned from every lesson. I was very challenged with the amount of journals we were assigned at first, I did not think that I would be able to handle it. But it is now an area that I did very well in. My favorite activities in this course were our diversity observations, our food bank adventure, and the spice of life video. There were many times, that I did not feel capable in completing some assignments. But all of these assignments have taught me so much. You have to always to remember to observe, this course is about noticing the things you normally would not pick up on. I look back on the first day, and I did not think I would enjoy this course. But now my whole perspective has changed. This course content affected my preparation for my future career as a law enforcement professional in many ways. I am very much aware of my surroundings at all times, and always paying attention to my blind spots. I wish you luck as your embark of this journey, but also to enjoy it. You will do amazing as long as you have the desire to learn. ***
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Dear future student,
Hey! By now if I am correct you are already in your second semester, you will have a pretty good idea of how this school operates. Well that is going to change a bit for this class. Other assignments are either theoretical information that you are required to learn or it is applies aspects where you must actually be able to demonstrate your ability. For this class you must be able to look more deeply at your own actions and how you interact with the world. Your textbook Visual Intelligence is a great read with many interesting this to keep yourself stimulated while teaching all of the best aspects to keep yourself looking both outward at the world and inward at yourself. This constant reflection is sure to prepare you for your career. Aside from the text there were fun projects like the trip to the Vancouver food bank. I did not know what to expect on the trip but it was way better than I imagined and I expect you will enjoy it too. Now here comes the part that I was less than enthused about but was still satisfying… the journals. Over the semester we were required to write something like 44 journals that helped us recognize diversity and gender issues. While the first batch was hard to get the hang out they start to come pretty easily. They were an interesting way to look at the interactions around us and catalogue them into a positive or negative experience. Something that may be different to your other classes that have two or three big projects and papers that make up the majority of your grade, this class is broken down into much smaller pieces. With individual projects marked for 2.5-10 percent of your grade… so just a heads up. Anyway I am sure that you will enjoy your time and learn many great things that are sure to help you in your career to come. ***
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Hello new LAWS1207 student,
You will be extremely happy to know that you are in for an exciting semester because of this diverse society course! For me personally, this was my favourite course and I looked forward to it every week. I gained a vast amount of knowledge that will help me one day in my law enforcement career, and I am positive you will as well. Something that I immediately noticed and loved throughout the whole course was the “feel” of the classroom, it is a relaxing and calm environment that makes learning so much more enjoyable. The course consent is great because it is put into a law enforcement career perspective, explaining situations you may encounter on the job and how to deal with them in a diversity friendly and respectful manner. Going into this course I thought I had a relatively good handle on this type of thing but I soon came to realize that there is always something to learn and ways to further what you already thought you knew. My three favourite activities were the diversity observation journals, the food bank field trip, and the spice of life video (cultural awareness). The thing I liked most about these three things were that it made me more aware of what is around me (different culture, issues, social class, people’s actions), you begin to look at things a different way, analyzing it more. The diversity journals were my biggest challenge at first, just because they are so detail oriented and specific. I quickly changed my thought surrounding them because I found I was noticing much more in my surroundings. The food bank was an amazing experience because I got to make a difference in people’s lives, all while doing it in a fun environment beside my fellow students. The spice of life video was a fun spontaneous assignment that was ultimately an eye opener and learning experience for me as there were so many foods featured from cultures that surround us. If I could break down what I have learned in LAWS1207 into a single word, it would be “awareness”. In law enforcement, awareness is extremely important and if you can start now with this exceptional course then you will prepare yourself for a future in policing or wherever life may take you. ***
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Dear future diversity student,
You’re fresh out of first semester and either feeling pretty good about yourself or feeling pretty stressed out. First semester is all about finding your groove, by now things should start to feel like they are clicking into place. Diversity is slightly different than your other classes; there are no midterms or finals, there is just a steady stream of small assignments. While it might feel like it is easy to put everything off, Do NOT do that, it will catch up to you. While you should be doing that for every class, it is even more crucial in diversity, though the assignments are small, they add up, and you do not want to be at the end of semester struggling to get everything done on top of studying for exams. The next thing I need to recommend to you is to not fall behind on your journals. It sucks having to start the night that a journal package is due having to recall all the different events and moments that occurred the previous week, just trying to beat that 11:59pm deadline. Take my word on that one, it is not fun, at all. So just stay on top of them, do a couple every few days and you will be golden. Besides the journals, the other big thing you should be aware of is the Visual Intelligence quizzes. While it is good to stay on top of your reading well in advance of the quizzes, this can often do more harm than good. as you often forget what you’ve read. So make sure you thoroughly read 1-2 days in advance. Here is a little pro tip; when your reading, pay specific attention to anything law enforcement/police related, as well as theories made by Dr. Herman – Basically ignore the art, it is not important. The final parting advice I have for you is to take advantage of the opportunities the class presents you. Really think about what it is going on, and use it to enhance your depth as a person, it will not only help you in your life, but also in your career as a law enforcement professional. Sincerely, A Student whose been there. P.S. – Seriously do your journals ahead of time, filling out 10 in a night really does sucks. ***
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Dear fellow students,
Welcome to this new semester and I hope you have a great start to it. This class will help you in your future career and give you a better insight on what you want to pursue. Just like many classes this class was fairly challenging for me because I had got very behind in my assignments. I recommend for you to balance out your assignments and not leave anything to do for last minute. The first thing I had problems with was keeping up with my journals. You will be assigned to do forty-four journals over the period of the whole course. These journals will help you observe your surroundings and make sure you see more details in your community. However, my advice for the journals is to strongly make sure you are dividing those up and making sure to get them done well before the due date. Another problem I had was reading and understanding the Visual Intelligence textbook. You are assigned to read two to three chapters per week and it is not a great idea to leave that reading for a day before class. There is a lot of content to understand in those chapters, so it may be useful to make some notes as you go along. Lastly, I advise you to study for the in class quizzes on the textbook. You will be doing in class activities after reading the textbook and having the quiz. Therefore, if you do not read the text and understand it, it will be hard for you to pass the course. Furthermore, these assignments may be challenging but are very useful in your future career. By the doing the journals it gives you a chance to observe situations, and as a law enforcement officer you are also doing many observations. Overall, this course helps you prepare for your future as it teaches you about many diversity issues. It really shows to not judge people from assumptions and always be accepting of everyone. This is a great course and will give you further knowledge on your career you wish to pursue. ***
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Dear Future Student,
I hope this letter finds you happy, and excited to be starting your new school year! Throughout my time in this diversity class I had many successes, and a few challenges. First of all, I found it difficult to keep up with the textbook reading as I am working three days a week in addition to school, as the semester progressed, I learned to fit my readings into my timetable and they became manageable. My successes involve learning about the diversity friendly style of writing, which I understood straight away, and successfully completing all 44 diversity journals! When I first started the journals, I didn’t understand the point of them, but as time progressed I came to understand the importance of them, and I believe that your last diversity class will prove that too. I believe I have positively grown from learning about all the diversity issues around the world in this class, and it has really expanded my knowledge in this area, which is extremely beneficial if I want to pursue a career in law enforcement. The visual intelligence textbook you will receive for this course, is of upmost importance for a career in law enforcement as it brings your focus to observation. This is something I wish I had known sooner, because it shocking how much we miss when it is right in front of us. Everything in this class is directly or indirectly beneficial for a law enforcement officer, so pay attention to everything Dr. J teaches you. Best of luck next year, I hope you enjoy your diversity class, and learn from my experience. ***
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Hello Future Student,
This letter is to let you know that this class is different from all other classes you take. Instructor is by far the calmest person I’ve ever seen. This course itself has no final exam. Only thing you won’t like is the first 2-3 weeks because I was in that position. Well, maybe you won’t be like me but I was. It was confusing and boring but then I realized that you learn so much from it. It’s called Law Enforcement Diverse Society for a reason. You learn about the diverse societies and importance of it. You will read a book called Visual Intelligence. First two chapters you probably won’t like it but be patient. You will learn a lot of things from that book, and it’ll help you in your future Law Enforcement career a lot. The most challenging part for me was to pass my quizzes. Everyone has struggles with something so just to give you a heads up, read the book and understand it. It not only makes you pass the quiz but it’ll help your visual intelligence. What I loved doing in this class was diversity observation journals. It taught me about my day to day experiences with people and what happens and how to response to the incidents that occurred to me. I slowly changed and had better outcomes in my responses. This course has affected my preparation big time for my future career Law Enforcement. The Visual Intelligence book in fact has had a big impact on me. It teaches you a lot. But I’ll save it and not spoil it for you. You will indeed have difficulties with the quizzes or at one point with personal issues. Jessica the Diversity instructor will always be there for you. She’s an inspiring person to be around with. She’s truly an awesome person to get helped by. Before I say goodbye, I would like to give you another head’s up that don’t stress when Jessica tells you that you’ll get 5% deduction from your mark if you send an unprofessional email to her. She will teach you and you’ll be fine. My class was tripping out and vowed that they won’t ever email her until she taught us. Every rule comes for a reason, you’ll get taught. I wish you best of luck in Jessica’s Law Enforcement Diverse Society Course. ***
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Hello future student of the Justice Institute of British Columbia,
I hope you enjoy your break and relaxed. You are embarking on a wonderful class called Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society with Dr. Jessica as your teacher. This is all new to you and will seem overwhelming with all the homework and tests, but I assure you after I am done discussing with you the course you will feel at ease. The first assignment is picking an ingredient and discussing it’s heritage. Starting off on “Spice of life video” set you up for learning about your own ethnicity and seeing into other people fridges ethnicities. This whole course you will make connections and learn so much about diversity issue and have fun doing it. Second you will read a book “Visual Intelligence”, at first the book seems like a lot to read, but it is invaluable. And will help you sharpen your perception and will play an integral role in improving your skills in law enforcement. The two videos “The Mask You Live in” and “Miss Representation” really open up your eyes to the role that gender plays in our every day life. In “Miss Representation” it stated 65% of women have an eating disorder and that many women are shown a sex objects in advertising. Things like that in class will truly inspired you to be more open minded and research things you do not know. One of the activities that I felt helped me overcome difficulties in my life was the observation journals. The observation journals are written by you and your able to sit down and reflect on the events that have transpired recently in your life. At the time I was writing these journals my girlfriend broke up with me, I had to move into another place twice , I was low on money and depressed. Writing the observation journals turned out be therapeutic for me. In the future when you become an officer, your most important tool will be how communicate and this class will prepare you for all the different diversity issue that might occur while being on duty. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I wish you the best in this course. ***
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Dear student,
Welcome to your Diversity class! I know exactly what you’re thinking on your first day – trust me; my whole class thought the exact same thing. Alas, it is a part of the requirement to earn your diploma, I’m afraid. You paid tuition for it, so you might as well get the most out of it. The journals aren’t as bad as they seem to be. At first, it seems very daunting, but if you split them up and do a few at a time then it’s not so bad. Don’t leave it until last minute and then scramble to finish on time (like I did). READ THE TEXTBOOK. I cannot stress this enough. The quizzes are easy if you read the book. In the first few quizzes, I didn’t read the book, and I got 1.5 out of 5, 2.5 out of 5… I didn’t actually start reading the book until I found out that you had to pass the quiz individually in order to pass the class. Once that threat of failing (and having to retake) this course was imminent, I got my act together and started reading. The result? 5/5, 5/5, 4.5/5. I helped my team get full marks on the bonus points each time. The quizzes are practically free marks if you read the textbook. The textbook isn’t actually super dry either. It can be fun to read. It’s actually about observation skills, not even diversity. I honestly thought this class was stupid and a waste of time, and I assume you and most of your class will as well. Forgive me if this is not true; I can only speak from my experiences. But throughout the course, there have been moments – powerful moments – that changed the way I saw things, changed the way I thought about things, and/or changed the way I behaved. Take what you learn with a grain of salt, sure, but also open your eyes to the possibility of profound change. I wish you the best of luck and lots of success in this course. ***
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Dear Future Student,
Hello and congratulations on making it to your second semester of the LESD program! You are now sitting in Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society with Dr. J, be prepared to learn valuable lessons, be of service to the community, and have some fun! This semester you will be learning about religion and religiously-motivated hate crimes, this activity opened my eyes to the many different religion’s there are in the world, being aware of these religious with help you and I both in our future career of law enforcement! Dr. J generously donates her time as well as her class time to the Great Vancouver Food Bank and wow was this experience humbling. I never knew the number of people who struggled with affording a necessity such as food, but seeing the number of donations they are given is truly inspirational. It was a great bonding day for our cohort and it was awesome seeing how much a group of 25 can get completed during a 3-hour shift. One aspect of the course I had some struggles with were the tests, if you are struggling with this as well I advise you to utilize the group you are in for study sessions, also taking time and read Visual Intelligence out loud. Another piece of advice would be STAY ON TOP OF YOUR JOURNALS, you would be surprised how may diversity issues happen around you daily, take 20 minutes and just get one done! I am so excited for you to experience this class as It has taught me so much about myself and the people who surround me in the community. ***
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To: Future Students
Dr. Jessica’s LAWS 1207, Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society class will be one that you will remember throughout the rest of your post-secondary experience. It is full of engaging and well thought out assignments which are all practical and are designed to get the brain thinking like a law enforcement officer. From the first assignment, Spice of Life, which was designed as an icebreaker to allow the cohort to get to know each other. Up until the very last assignment I was fully engaged in every class and had a lot of fun completing the assigned work and learned a vast amount of knowledge through the interactive lectures. Through the lectures given by Dr. Jessica it is very tough to zone-out and lose track of what she is teaching. However, if for any reason, you do have difficulty picking up on the material covered in the lectures, Dr. Jessica can easily go over material after the class due to her kind personality and passion to teach. Although, the classes are very engaging with interesting topics, there are a select few times I had a difficult time keeping up. Particularly during the third month of Dr. Hermans novel Visual Intelligence, were assigned tests on the readings weekly, it began to become overwhelming. As the course begins to come to an end and with finals just around the corner it is difficult not to cram and stress as a university student. The key is to use the time before the last few weeks of the course to familiarize yourself with readings and have a head start. Furthermore, the textbook novel that was assigned for this class did not feel like the generic novel which is assigned in school to read. It was something I would read in the summer in a park sitting alone relaxing. This novel was amazing because it has so much to give and the interest for this was endless. Every chapter elaborated on communication and the visual intelligence with greater examples and stories. All in all, the three assignments that stuck out to me was the in-class assignments where we drew faces or pictures of our partner, this was a fun and informative assignment where we learned the importance to search for details. Another great experience that stuck out to me was our food bank trip. During this trip, I was blessed to meet a variety of different people that were so kind, helpful and were fully engaged with us while we were working. The novel Visual Intelligence felt like a gift to read. This course was amazing to take and having the cohort treat one another like family it is hard to dislike the atmosphere and feel left out. ***
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Dear future student,
Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society is a very informative class that will help you in your future Law Enforcement career. During this class I read a book called Visual Intelligence. From this book I learned to stick with the facts instead of your observations. This book was also very helpful to me because I was able to recognize my bias instead of ignoring and refusing to recognize my bias towards different people and religions. I would recommend this book for anyone as it is easy to read and teaches you the simple side of life. Through this class I learned how to difference people in skin color, physical appearance and face structure. This class is very useful and easy if you are on task and if you hand in things on time. You should read the book carefully as it will be tested and as well, serve you great purpose in your future Law Enforcement career. In this class, the visual intelligence test is also done as group to gain bonus points which will help you achieve a higher mark. Through the group tests, you will learn to work as a group as well as, communicate with others and be able to incorporate everyone’s ideas. You will learn about different religions, stereotypes said about different religions and you will learn more about the aboriginal center located in JIBC. The aboriginal classroom is an amazing class that allows you to learn about the aboriginal people’s history in terms of in their families and schools. ***
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Letter to Future Diversity Students
As a student who has successfully completed this course I am writing to give you some insight into how to approach and treat this course. When I walked into Dr. J’s class I was shocked by the amount of work I was going to be expected to do and the part that bothered me most was the purpose. I could not find purpose behind what we were learning or what we were doing. I was wrong, and it took me the better part of the semester to realize it. The first three rounds of journals I did I put the minimum amount of effort in, to get the marks. My fourth, and final round of journals was a complete turn around. I had previously realized Dr. J’s class was not about a whole bunch of lessons I was supposed to take away from but in turn it was about being able to find a lesson in everything in life, in your career, in the world, and in others. My journals reflected this and it was noticed by Dr. J. A factor that was a large influence on my learning of this was the required book. Even though you will be able to get through the quizzes without reading it and do just fine I do not recommend it. The Visual Intelligence book made me look at events differently and see concepts and lessons in things that I did not think had any. I thought it was strange we were instructed to read a book and be tested on it yet the book was never discussed in class just like you will. However, reading the book really is not about getting the marks. The book is a very valuable tool and will surely sharpen your “Visual Intelligence”. I looked at things differently after I read every section of the book. Another thing I was weary about in the beginning was the food bank. I have no issues volunteering, in fact I enjoy it. The food bank would not have been my first choice and I questioned the idea of being forced to volunteer. I really enjoyed my time at the food bank, and while I was there I met some great people that influenced me and really made me think about how easy it is to give your time to a simple cause and how many people you can impact in a big way. To conclude the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to come to this class with an open mind. I did not for two thirds of the course and this hindered my ability to learn. Dr. J has a strong opinion on many things and her thoughts and feelings will challenge your way of thinking. Do not shy from this as I can guarantee you will learn valuable things from her. ***
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Good day future diversity student,
Welcome to Law enforcement in a diverse society course. Pay attention carefully because what I am about to tell you is going to be incredibly essential to your success for this course. First off, do not think that this is a course you can just “relax in”. This course will allow you to open up and view things in ways you have never done before, but in order to do that, you have to apply yourself. Most importantly, do the journal observations, and do them honestly. Now I know what you’re thinking “44 journal entries, this is ridiculous!” Believe me, I thought the same thing, but when I started the second set I had already realized that I was seeing things from a perspective that I never had before. So just do them! Anytime that you see something that might be “diversity” related, make a note of it on your phone. 44 journals will go fast, but make sure you do not leave them to last minute. If you go out during the day, and you happen to see three observations, go home and fill in the sheet and submit it, trust me, you do NOT want to leave it until last minute, odds are you will have homework from other courses and doing all the journals will take a lot of time. However if you do one or two at a time, it feels like hardly any work at all. Second tip, read the darn book! I know at first it’s a lot of “did you see this, did you see that?” Trust me though, it does get really interesting, and the tests are harder than you expect, if you don’t get a passing mark, then it doesn’t matter how well you did on the rest of the course work, you will still fail. So just read it okay? The chapters are fairly large and it is quite a lot of information to take in, so I advise you to either take notes, or read it shortly before the test, and quickly skim it again to help you better remember the information. Finally, go to the food bank. I’ll be honest, I did not want to go, I almost didn’t, but it was such an amazing experience. It will really open your eyes to some of the struggles people go through, and you will experience more compassion for them, then you probably already had. For my final closing thoughts I just want to remind you to be open. This course is different from all the others you will have, don’t be discouraged by how weird it may first come across at just embrace it, you will enjoy it. Dr. J is a good instructor, be respectful and polite and you will receive the same treatment. Through this course you will learn to accept and be open to others, and if you are serious about a career in law enforcement, then this course is incredibly important for your success. ***
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Letter to Future Student(s)
Dear future student I hope you are having a wonderful start to your new semester. I am going to give you some first-hand advice and hopefully it will help you in your new semester. The most important thing in this class is reading the book that comes along with this course. Read all the chapters — it is a really good read. Be prepared to reread some chapters to understand the deeper meaning and to make sure you do not miss any information that is present in the book. Another important element to your class is doing the journal packages. These packages are also very important to your grades. Talk about a topic related to diversity. This can be anything and you have a week to find something to talk about. You can also talk about things related to diversity that you find while watching the news or even reading a news article, also you can talk about your experiences good or bad that you recently had online in a video game for example. One of the best ways to succeed in this diversity class is to actually show up to every class, you learn many things related to diversity some things that you would never even consider. An example of this kind of class is a class where we had to draw something while someone else in the class described it. I hope you have learned some things from reading my letter. I hope you find success in your semester and the semesters to come. What you learn is important and you never know when it will help you. ***
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Dear Future Student,
Law enforcement in a diverse society is by far the most experiential class that you will partake in throughout your time in the LESD program. Do not make the same mistake did, which is making assumptions about the class. Have an open mind and appreciate everything about this class, as it will only help you along the way. Throughout the term you will embark on many adventures such as; the food bank field trip, the finding of your 44 journal entries and the construction of your spice of life video. If I had to pick one thing I excelled at I would pick the 44 journal observations. It was not because I received a very good mark but it allowed me to see the world how it is and provided me with many different ways to look at a situation and the depth behind each one. There are many tasks in the program that you may or may not enjoy. I personally enjoyed making my spice of life video. This was because it was not only a chance for myself to show off my culture but teach my classmates new things they did not know previously. With everything that was done throughout the term, I feel this class has showed me a totally different view at diversity and given me a new way to look at the world. This will only enhance my career in Law enforcement as I have acquired skills that cannot be acquired anywhere else. Overall, Law enforcement in a Diverse Society deserves to have every cohort begin the class with an open mind. Hope you enjoy your time at the JIBC. PS: DO NOT WEAR FRAGRANCE AND RESPECT DR.J ***
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Dear future students,
I hope your day is wonderful and you are enjoying the class you are in at the current moment. I’m guessing that you are enjoying the class as much as I did when I first started. Now that your class has started, I am writing a letter to you in order to guide you down the right path to succeed through this course. This course is one of the most beneficial courses you could ever take due to how diverse and how much our Canadian society is changing over time, we as the new generation of police officers definitely have to adapt around that. I have two points of advice for you in this course, one would be time management. While the work is not difficult to do, if you let it pile on you can be easily overwhelmed by the amount of time and effort it takes to complete your tasks. If you manage it accordingly you will be fine and the course will be smooth sailing. The second point of advice would be to have an open mind. There are a lot of things throughout the course you may come across that you may find controversial, or that you may find confusing and hard to understand. We live in a society where we have changed drastically and we have been very open and accepting to all things new and different. Have an open mind and participate in discussions because it will help you expand your mind in certain areas that you would have never thought about before. I appreciate the time you are taking to read this letter. I hope and wish the best for you throughout the course and also the program. ***
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To whom it may concern,
Congratulations on your first day of Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society! You are about to embark on a complex journey that will open your perceptions to ideas and philosophy’s you may have never considered while challenging your own personal biases. At times the program will challenge you to think outside of your comfort zone, but if you allow yourself to let go of your personal assumptions and fears you will be rewarded with wisdom that lasts a lifetime. With that said allow me to share some helpful tips regarding the course that will help you be successful in the weeks to come. One of the most time-consuming parts of the course will be your diversity journals. Your journals play a big part in enhancing your perception of the world but do take a considerable amount of thought and time to prepare and complete. For this reason, I would highly suggest that you keep on top of your journals daily and not save it for the last minute. If you leave your journals too long they can become more of a burden than a positive part of the program which defeats the purpose of doing them in the first place. Remember that you get out what you put into this program, ensure you keep a positive attitude even when faced with topics that may challenge your biases. Remember that this program is here to help you better understand and communicate with the public within the role of law enforcement professional, so keep it professional. Finally look to set an example as a leader within your cohort and take the initiative to add something more to the program. This may include volunteering for extra curricular activity’s outside of the program that has to do with social justice issues. It doesn’t need to be something huge but even a small change to the world in a positive way makes everyone’s lives better. I wish you the best of luck in your future career. ***
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Dear future student of the Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society course,
I hope you had a great first semester and are currently having a great start to your second. This course may come with some challenges like any other course. You will have many activities to teach you how to see the world in a new way. You will have observation journals that will help you learn to see diversity in a new way. One of my favourite parts of the class was the many documentaries that you get to watch on gender issues that need to be looked at. But most of all the class textbook will really help you learn how to observe in a way you may have never thought about. Even with all the fun activities this class might be hard at times but you just have to remember to work hard and push through it and it will be worth it. The one major benefit of this course is it will help you in your future in law enforcement by teaching you how to be a great observer and see past your biases you may have developed over time. As a Law Enforcement officer with this knowledge you will have training that other officers will not have giving you an advantage that will help your career in the long wrong. I hope that this semester and this course are great end to your first year in the LESD program. Thank you for your time. ***
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To Whomever it may concern,
If you are reading this, it means that you have started LAWS1207 – Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society. When I first received an email from Dr. J, I immediately had the impression that she was a strict teacher. I was scared to walk into the classroom because from her classroom criteria and seeing all the assignments that we had to do, I did not know what to expect from this course. To my surprise, Dr. J is one of the most honest and sincere teachers I have met so far here at the Justice Institute. On your first day, you might get overwhelmed by the amount of assignments that you have to complete throughout the course; but I’m telling you now, it is not hard at all. Yes, the 44 journals may seem intimidating, but as long as you are honest and do one each day, you will be fine. The journals will start to feel a bit tedious after you have finished writing a few, but the journals will help you observe the amount of diversity that is in our society. Had it not been for Dr. J and her journals, I would not be able to spot diversity issues as quickly as I can today. If you don’t like writing the journals, just remember this: You are enrolled in a Law Enforcement program, where you will face plentiful pile of paperwork once you get a job in Law Enforcement. As well, in Law Enforcement, you will have work that you may not necessarily want to do, but you do it anyway because it is part of your job. By having that mentality, you will be able to succeed in Dr. J’s class! Ever since the beginning of the semester, I did not mind this class. Some of my classmates found this class unbearable, unfortunately, but at the end of the semester, everyone in my Cohort was glad that they endured the entire semester because of the skill and newfound knowledge that they gained. Long story short, the workload may seem a lot, but it honestly is not that bad. As well, be respectful to each other and have fun! ***
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Dear future diversity student,
You do not know this yet, but you are about to go through a class where all the changes that happen to you will help shape the person who you will become in a diverse community. Throughout this course, I have learned to analyze situations in the correct manner. The group where I was assigned to for the whole semester taught me that working in a team will build stronger bonds between individuals. The one success I am most proud of in this class is writing the diversity journals. These journals have helped me develop as a person because I became better at analyzing diverse situations. The food bank volunteer work we did was also one of the highlights for me in this class because I was able to help out in the community. The honour system has taught me to have to withstand integrity through work that required your honesty. Although, I mentioned that the journals were one of my favourite activities, however, writing these journals at times became my biggest challenge in this class. Personally, there is a community in the class that will welcome you with open arms and wants to do everything in its power to make your experience in this class everything that you imagined it to be. This course has affected my future career in law enforcement by forcing myself to step out in the world, and learning how to deal with diverse situations and different individuals. My advice to you now is to use what this class offers you to your advantage and do not be afraid to ask for help and step out of your comfort zone. Be an encouragement to your neighbours and know that you are doing great work. ***
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Dear Future Student,
I am a former student who has taken this class perviously. This diversity class has a lot to offer to you. Yes, I know in the beginning when you look at the rubric and hear Dr. J say 44 journals, your first reaction might be “ Are you serious” and “That is not even possible”; but trust me it is possible and by the end of the journals you will thank Dr. J for assigning you these journals. I had the best time learning new things throughout this course and being more alert about my surroundings. Sometimes we do not see things that are too important in our society and culture to us because we are not aware of them; but this course for sure does help you in being more alert of your surroundings. Personally before I didn’t notice or look out for many things as I wasn’t aware of them, but now that this course has taught me how to be more alert of my surrounding; I know what happens around me and how the diversity is itself. I am going to give you a quick sneak peak of what this course has to offer you and my personally 3 favourite assignments or experiences throughout this course. First off, as I just told you the journals! Honestly these journals helped me as a person to look out for more diversity issues our society faces. I am able to see now how language barrier is a huge part and different ethnicities for issues that arise in our society today. Second off, the honour system and bonus points based on the honour system. This is where you get a chance to boost up your final mark. If you think you are not doing so well in this course and need a boost because you don’t want to be at the border line, then these bonus marks are for you. Personally having these bonus marks gave me a ease as in, where ever I am sitting at my final grade I have a chance to increase through my bonus mark assignments. These bonus activities are done with full honesty and integrity; because remember we are all here for one and only focus is law enforcement career, and believe me you want to do everything with honesty and integrity. Lastly, the food bank. I had never been to the food bank before in my life. And this class gave me a chance to go out and help other individuals who were in need of my help; it definitely was a great feeling. Those were my 3 favourite experiences in this entire course. One advice do not leave anything until last minute! Do not procrastinate because yes it is a quite work load but it does pay off in the end. Hope you enjoy the course as much as I did, Good luck! ***
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Dear future students,
Diverse society is nothing like you ever imagined it to be. You do not know this yet but it will dramatically change the way you observe things. You will encounter experiences and people that will make you happy. You will find all sorts of new things about different people’s backgrounds and their religion which you never knew about. I had many successes and challenges that faced me. I really did good on the spice of life video I did and I enjoyed every part of it. My mom taught me how to cook one of my favourite dishes and at the same time, I learned a lot from other student’s background and their spice that they have cooked. Also I really enjoyed the food bank it was a great experience for me and my cohort to give back to the community. Furthermore, the Syrian family visit was mind-blowing to me the fact that they had to go through so many hardships to finally arrive in Canada to live a better live. It is one of those opportunities that you rarely ever get to learn what they had to go through. The one challenge I faced was when we did our visual intelligence quizzes, it was difficult for me to remember that much content but at the same time, I did learn things in the book that were helpful in our daily lives. All the course content we have covered really helped me shape to be a better person overall. A few things I learned was do not be judgemental, always be open minded, take time to observe things and always know your blindspots. Last but not least I highly recommend this class to anyone and it will definitely get your money’s worth and you are very lucky to take this course. Good luck to everyone in the near future. ***
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Dear Future LAWS1207 Student,
Hope this semester treats you well! This class will open your eyes to a lot of things around you that you may have not noticed before. Some of the things you learn in this class will be very valuable in your future in law enforcement so take advantage of that! Also make sure you keep up with your assignments, the journals may seem overwhelming to start with but try your best to not leave all of them to the night they are due it just will add extra stress. For the tests, make sure you are passing your individual tests so that your team mark can bump up you mark, it will be helpful. Although don’t get too caught up with being tested on the textbook, there are some really interesting points in the book so take the time to take the stuff in. Enjoy the new things you learn in this class, some of the topics may not necessarily interest you but make the most of it. Most of all time management is important, get assignments done as quick as you can so they are out of the way. Overall, this class is an interesting learning experience and I suggest you take in the valuable things you learn in this class. Finally, enjoy the experience you are getting from a program like the Law Enforcement Studies Diploma. It is a very unique experience and learning environment so take advantage of the knowledge the teachers are sharing. Good luck in this class! ***
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Dear future student,
Do not be fooled by the journals. Although they may seem like an easier assignment (which they are) however the journals are time consuming and you have a lot of them to finish. My advice to you is keep up with them. Do one journal per day and even get ahead on your journals when you can. That way you are not going to be shoving a bunch of other assignments into the same night. That is not a fun time. When you receive the textbook read it! My cohort received a novel as our textbook I felt worried that I would not do well on the tests because what kind of things will be tested in a novel? Truth is the novel was great, and was easy to recall what I had been reading. Tip with studying, read the chapters necessary to the tests, then spend a few hours the night before the test reading and writing down key notes. That really helped me during the tests. And if you keep up with the reading you will have no problems doing the tests. Even after the reading the novel I felt as if the journals became easier too. You cover a lot of interesting topics throughout this course some you may agree with and some you may not agree with. Everyone as their opinion. Do not let any controversial topics make you feel judged by your classmates and keep your arguing in a respectful manner. I felt in my cohort there was a few occasions where the topics would get everyone fired up leaving an uncomfortable atmosphere to those who were listening. Overall interesting course and definitely a course to pay attention to. If you keep up with the readings and the journals you could easily get over a hundred percent. Good Luck! ***
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Dear Future Student,
I would like to describe this class as interesting and quite challenging. This is a class where reading and keeping up with the Visual Intelligence book as well as participating in the class lectures really makes the most difference. In the first few days, Dr. Jessica will introduce the diversity observations, which everyone hated because it requires you to submit 44 detailed and well-oriented observations that you come across on a daily basis. Honestly, the most frustrating aspect of this course was really just critically evaluating thought provoking ideas in your diversity observations, but once you master this challenging task, this class becomes a lot more enjoyable. The best part is that Dr. Jessica understands the struggles that students face when attending to all five classes in the semester. Because of this if you get a mark of 2.5 or higher in any and all of your quizzes you are guaranteed to pass this course because of the marks that get added in from the team based scratch and win tests. What I believe is one of the biggest highlights in this class is the visit to the food bank. This is the one day where you get to ditch class and have fun in the environment by helping the less fortunate alongside with your friends. This comes as a nice break from tedious reading and studying and being able to enjoy the day with your buddies. In conclusion, the best tip I have for you is to double check the diversity calendar to finish the assignments for the week and read the chapters assigned from Visual Intelligence. This class is definitely one you can learn from, but you really have to be able to invest the time required. I wish you the best of luck. ***
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A Letter to a Future Student
This diversity course was nothing how I imagined it to be. It provided interesting experiences and skillful exercises, all of which assisted in their own way to prepare us for law enforcement. At first, you may feel like the assignments are useless, but after they are done you will realize how important they are. One of the assignments I hated doing were these diversity journals, only because it was time consuming and was never told a specific reason why we were doing them. Trust me though, you probably will too when working with other deadlines. It was not until after my final entry in my 4th set of journals I realized how much they helped me reflect on my personal biases and how I can improve on my diversity skills; it was a powerful assignment. Just do not forget to hand them in on time, they can add up quickly! Facial recognition was the most important exercise throughout this course, especially since it relates directly to law enforcement. This was my favourite exercise because it helped me focus on one of my weaknesses, which was thawing out detail from an object or a person. Our field trip to the Vancouver food bank motivated me to help the community more. As a law enforcement officer, your community is your pride, so just the thought of knowing that our efforts were going to a good cause, helped me grow as a person. This whole journey has been wild, but sticking through it and appreciating every small thing we did in class made the course more enjoyable. The only advice left is to never go into class thinking we are going to learn something not worth our time, always have a positive mindset and it will result in an enjoyable course. Also, give Dr. Motherwell love and respect! She is one of the best professors you will have!
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Dear future student,
I hope you are having an awesome day so far. The reason for this letter is so I can provide you with some advice that will hopefully help you through Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society. First off, reading the class book will certainly help when doing the tests in class. For myself, reading the book has made me feel quite comfortable when doing the tests, compared to when I did not. Also, by reading the book, I have more useful things to expect when pursuing my career in law enforcement. The journal packages that are assigned for this course are a great activity to do. For example, doing the journals gave me the opportunity to learn more personal things about myself that I need to work on, in order to become a great peace officer in the future. Most likely the most important class element is getting to work with partners. I have learned that having someone to help you in class when doing group activities is much easier, rather than trying to complete tasks on your own. It also may give you the opportunity to get to know your classmates better and make new friends, throughout your journey in law enforcement. Group activities have given me the chance to learn the importance of the people around you and treating everyone equally. This aspect will certainly be a great use when working with other people in the future, as a peace officer. All in all, I hope this letter will aid you in the future and good luck in becoming what you dream to be! ***
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Dear future student,
If you are reading this then it means you have made it into the program and in that case, congratulations. If you are in this during your second semester, then an even bigger congratulations! You are halfway through your first year. This letter is simply to give you an idea of the ride that you are in for Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society. This class definitely educated me in many ways and opened my eyes to multiple issues that I was not previously aware of. This class taught me to be more observant and to be more sensitive to issues that did not directly involve me. One personal challenge that I had with this course was keeping up with my readings; and it was a big mistake. The book for this class “Visual Intelligence” is nothing short of amazing. It was densely packed with information that can be translated and practiced in my, and your, future career. A personal favourite activity of mine was the day we covered Aboriginal studies. Though I was already aware of some of the discriminatory problems that Aboriginals faced in the past, it felt right to dedicate a whole day to them in respect. One major tip that I have for you is to stay ahead of your Diversity Observation Journals. If you do these one by one early before the deadline, then it will be a piece of cake. However, if you somehow leave it for the last minute, then I guarantee it will be much more difficult and stressful to complete. Overall, this course has helped me be more diversity friendly in my everyday relations, whether it be family, friends, or strangers. I believe that it has also given me an advantage over my competitors in my career aspiration as a police officer. Complete all your work/reading to the best of your ability and as early as possible and you will be successful in this course. ***
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Dear Future Student,
This letter is apart of our farewell assignment project that we have to write for the future
students that are going to be taking this course with Dr.J. I hope my wisdom and experience from
taking this course will help you understand how you can succeed in this course and use the course
content to benefit your career as a future police officer. The first thing I will talk about, that is probably the most important, is the diversity journals. This might be the most challenging and time consuming project but it is worth it. Over the term, you will have to do 44 journals (around 11 per 2-3 weeks). The journals are to capture your observations that you see in your everyday life. At first, you may ask why is this necessary or why this is in the course content, but the journals allow you to see just how diverse your interactions can be. In my own experience it has really helped me see my daily life with a neutral lens. This will help one in policing as it allows you to be neutral and appreciate all the diversity that is present that would originally have been missed. The success in doing the journals comes from going out and observing keenly and seeing everything that happens daily with an open eye. However, the challenge of this activity is just doing the 11 journals as it can take a lot of time to perfect. The second thing that I will talk about is the textbook that we do our quizzes off of. It is called Visual Intelligence. In my opinion, this book has really helped me see the bigger picture and allows me to think critically whenever I see something. The book has many visual pictures and activities alongside case studies of how one in law enforcement can see the situation at all angles. The challenging part of this book was just how in depth and detail oriented it is so as before with the journal topic, a lot of time and effort need to be utilized to understand the text. The success that comes from reading this text is that it allows you to be a better investigator in law enforcement and also allows you think critically. The book is fantastic and I have learned a lot from reading it every week. The last thing I will talk about is the truth and reconciliation graphic novel session. This class is probably the most interesting in my opinion as it is a class discussing the aboriginal hardships and history. This is very interesting as it has many facts that may have been missed in high school and other education. Also we go over the reconciliation documents and make a cohort cartoon with all our images compiled summarizing the documents. This was a really good experience and is beneficial in law enforcement as it allows us to learn about the most victimized group of individuals that are over represented in the jails. It is good to know the history of Canada and see what exactly was done to the aboriginals so a neutral eye can be taken when dealing with them with empathy and compassion. ***
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Hello Future Student,
This class you are about to take with Dr. J is the most life changing class you will ever take in the first semester of university. Do not panic when you read the syllabus, it might seem like this class is a waste of time, but it is not. I was in the same seat you were sitting and had the same thoughts you must be having. The requirements and work you have to do to pass the class must be shocking at first, but as the semester rolls on, this is probably the best class you will have compared to the other four. Just a heads up, make sure you guys do all your readings that are required for that week, because everything you read will be on the weekly tests. Also, make sure you do not panic about the numerous of journals you will have to write, they might seem difficult at the start, but when you actually start writing them, they are very easy and actually make you see the world differently.
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Hello Future Students,
Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society was pretty fun. First of all, this class has a unique environment. You will never be bored, every class was a new class, a new start. Dr. J made the class laugh and cry. We learned so much as a cohort through her teachings. The Spice of Life video in the beginning was a great way to start the semester. You learn a lot from the video about your class mates. When I first heard that we were going to do 44 journals in the semester, I was in complete shock. However, I did managed to complete it all, it was a little time consuming but I did it. Make sure you hand in all your assignments on time so you can get marks. If you are falling behind, Dr. J is kind enough to give you bonus marks to bump up your grade. I had trouble doing 11 journals almost every 2 weeks but I never gave up. I kept on pushing my self to finish it. Do NOT let your ego take over in this class. Class discussions are always fun with Dr. J. She will make sure you do a fantastic job at your class discussions. Also, do not forget to go to the Food Bank. You all will have an amazing time there. Overall, have fun Dr. J’s class, stay on topic and crush you journals!! FYI do not wear any fragrance or else you will be in big trouble. ***
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Hello Future Student,
First of all, welcome to your second semester! I am writing this letter to provide you with beneficial advice for your success in Diversity class with Dr. J. My experience from the class is, in the beginning I had an impression that this class was going to be challenging from the criteria that we had obtained, however by going through it and completing readings and assignments it just required hard-work. I found the readings in the Visual Intelligence text to be something that you should spend your time on, and really focus on because it is quite important to your success in the course. I found it difficult to translate this information into something that is testable, so my tip is to really analyze the information that you are reading and make notes. The food bank is a field trip which is an unforgettable experience that you will also take part in this course. Having this opportunity to give back to the community was inspiring because it was a direct interaction to those who most need help in our community. Diversity observations was something I found to be a hassle at the beginning, but taking a look at the information that you are writing about, you get to break down a scene that you experienced and learn a lot about yourself and others as well. It provided a way to be more observant towards your surrounding and all the information that is visible and invisible. Finally, I will tell you how this affects my preparation for my career in law enforcement. I learned more about myself, my cohort, my community and the entire world. It is an experience to become aware of issues, to work on creating a better world, and providing insight towards how in this career, I will accomplish that with this new found knowledge. I wish you the best of luck! ***
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Dear Future Student,
Welcome to Diversity Law Enforcement 1207! This course is one of the most rewarding courses you will be apart of. You will most likely start off with the spice of life video which for me was a little bit nerve racking however once it was done it was a piece of cake! After completing this you will get a sense of what the course is all about which is learning more about others and yourself. Then you will be asked to submit journals to your Dr. J talking about your experiences in your daily life which is helpful because it gives you a sense of reflection and helping yourself improve. My personal favourite activity was the Syrian visit, because it was such a special opportunity to meet people that refugees from their home country to come to Canada. You get to ask them about their experiences and how they find it in Canada their new home. Another thing that you will soon realize is that Dr. J trusts her students very much and has the honour system intact. That means that she will give you opportunities to do bonus activities and boost your mark. She does not expect any proof or anything when submitting the assignment but just the honour system to be intact. I have never had a teacher so trusting of their students in such a way. Dr. J is always there to help any student in need of guidance or coaching she really is a very caring instructor at the JI. She is one of my most favourite teachers and will continue to refer to her for any help in future endeavours. ***
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Hello all diversity students,
I wish you success during your time in LESD. I wish to give you a few pointers on how to successfully complete, the Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society course. The challenges I had to face during the class were time management when completing the Diversity Journals, and completing the weekly tests about the novel Visual Intelligence. These assignments are vital for completing the course, and I would recommend that students manage their time during their semester. The most interesting experience I had during my class was the field trip to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. I thought it was an interesting and rewarding experience, since we helped people in need of food, toiletries and the basic necessities. The main difficulty I had during my time in the class was finding topics to write about for diversity journals. One solution to this problems is to write down any diversity observations positive or negative in a notebook and refer back to your notes when writing your journals. I found the novel Visual Intelligence to be a very interesting book, and I found that the tests reflected the content in the book. When preparing for the tests I would recommend reading the chapters and then glance over them before the test day to jog your memory. Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society made me realize the diverse and complex world within policing and I found the course material would be valuable towards a career within law enforcement. Thank you for reading. ***
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Dear future students of LAWS 1207,
Welcome to your first day of Diversity! You may be wondering how this course will benefit your future in law enforcement and I am here to guide you through the ups and downs of LAWS 1207. This course has opened my eyes to so many issues I never would have noticed without this class. Some successes in this class were being able to participate in a food bank. This allowed our cohort to experience teachable moments outside of a classroom setting and make connections within the community. Another success was watching our cohort become friends and allowing barriers to come down, which brought everyone closer. The class presentation on our own diversity issue was the most rewarding part of this class I found. Some downsides are keeping up with the 44 journals. If you took the time to do them beforehand, it really enhanced the understanding of what you are achieving with each entry. Yes, 44 journals seems like a major task, yet, they allow your eyes to open to everyday issues that you may not have acknowledged without this task. Finally, the textbook assigned to this class helped put into perspective all that you may see and deal with on a daily basis. I highly encourage you to read it and really take the time to understand the concepts implemented in the book. Overall, this course may take some adjusting to really understand the underlying learning method. It has helped me feel more prepared and aware of how to handle a diverse or social justice issue. Do not judge this course and take every lesson in stride and remind yourself that in our future careers we have to show up with and open mind to every call. ***
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Letter to a Future Student in Diversity
When I started my second semester, I was working to pay for my school and I was going to 5 classes trying to keep up with all my assignments and study. At first I thought diversity would be a breeze but there was many assignments I had to complete in all my classes. The only thing that was really difficult for me individually was doing the journals. The only reason it was difficult was not because I hated the assignment but instead it was because I did not have the time. I was waking up at 4am to go to work and I would get off at noon and then I had classes at 1pm until the evening. I wish I could have paid more attention and finished all my assignments for diversity but I couldn’t. The other thing was using Blackboard which I am not good at. Sometimes Blackboard can get really confusing and you might want to get help from someone like a classmate to get familiar with it for diversity. There is many commenting assignments and posting assignments you have to do which can really through an individual off. This course has opened my eye with different diversity issues such as the “Why do Terrorists Blow Themselves up” article. It really opened my eye as to why people think it okay for them to do suicide bombings, but you really see their thinking process and start to understand that they really need help. ***
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Hello Future Student!
I hope you are enjoying your time at the JI so far! All the content in this class is truly enlightening and opens your eyes to the world around you . The text book is absolutely amazing, and it is a must read, I could not put it down. The tests that go along with the text are fair, following the texts we had ‘bonus’ mark scratch and wins to do with our teams, that was awesome, it was a way to interact with your friends as well as earn some extra bonus points. The diversity observations were slightly challenging at the beginning because it was hard to notice lots, however you eventually get used to it and it becomes easier and easier. So just power through! 🙂 The food bank was so much fun we got split into two different groups and got to organize food products and every day necessities into bags that were going to be sent for home deliveries. It was an awesome few hours spent working with great people. All in all it was a fantastic course, I am sure you will feel the same! It was a class that helped me be more in tune with society and understand how diverse/not diverse some aspects of peoples lives are. I wish you all the luck and success in your current and future studies! ***
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Letter to Future Student
Hi there! I wish I had the opportunity to meet you in person and discuss this with you but here is a special letter I wrote for you. This class has honestly been amazing, I’ve had my ups and downs, meaning I did not tend to pass the first time around because I made a tiny little mistake the first time, I did not read the book! My number one advice would be to read the book, it could get challenging but I promise it will be worth it because I did not see it the first time but I realize this book is actually amazing. You will learn so much in this course by simply showing up to the classes because as a law enforcement officer you have to learn how to be a diversity friendly person and you will learn that attitude by seeing so much more to how much this book has to offer. You will learn how to see the bigger picture and observe more. My number one success this semester was my journals, I could not even explain how fun it was observing little things in life because the little things in life matter the most and you get to see so much more in situations by looking at it in a different perspective. The spice of life video was my favourite part of the course because I got to show the creative side of me and you will too! Well, if you love cooking. Get ready to observe and see so much more in life. Have a fantastic semester and I wish you all the success in the world. ***
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Dear LESD student,
Diverse society class is a very eye opening class that makes you more aware of things around you, this class is very different from any other class I have personally taken so far. Although this class is very interesting time management is very important throughout this class because journals can pile up. I personally found this a problem . A tip to handle doing journals is, doing one a day so they don’t pile up. One of my personal favourite activities we did in this class was giving back to the community and going to the food bank. It is a very good feeling that I am sure you will enjoy as well. The material covered in this class is so different that it gives you a new perception when you see things in the world. Many common stereotypes that we hear are quickly abolished because it also gives us a new way to think. I personally found this class life changing for the better. The material covered in this class will be very beneficial for people who want to pursue a career in law enforcement, or even for someone who will be genuinely interacting with the community. This class is quite a journey from realizing how to identify people to learning how the media is changing the world. Not only is this class unique the assignments are really fun as well for example, the comic strip we did with our groups was fun and really brought the cohort together. Some assignments that I didn’t really enjoy where was the Spice of Life Video but it really helped me spread my wings and try out things that I liked and didn’t like. Overall this class is a life changing experience. Another tip I would like to leave behind is that if you are ever struggling never hesitate to ask your instructor — this really helped me solve of my problems. ***
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Good day future student,
I heartily welcome you to “Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society” class! In this class, you will be assigned to read a book called Visual Intelligence. So please read this book and take notes while reading in order to be successful on the tests. You will have to pass these tests in order to pass the course so make sure you spend time reading this book in detail. According to my experience, I did not do very well on the first few tests and had to struggle to get good marks on next tests in order to pass the course, so do not be me, and read chapters twice if you can. It does not take very long to read since the font of the writing in book is big and also, there are pictures of drawings to illustrate some facts. After reading this book, my perception to look at the world have changed, this will help me a lot in my career as a law enforcement officer because with this perception, I will be able to find every details at the scene. Then we were given the chance to volunteer at the Surrey Food Bank during our class. The experience of interacting with the less fortune people at the food bank, will always be rememberable. Communicating with people from different cultures, experiences, and lifestyles was a bit challenging for me at first but it got better with practice. As a police officer, interactions with people from all kinds of backgrounds is common so this trip to the food bank will be helpful for me in the future as well. There is a lot to write but with respect to time, lastly, I am going to talk about the Diversity Observations that we had to create. Every so often throughout the semester, you will get the opportunity to write about the diversity issues in a free manner, that you see or experience in our society these days. I found this aspect of course to be the most successful one because it helped me to consider the issues that still exist in our society regarding people’s races, religions, genders, backgrounds, and beliefs. The challenge when writing the observations was that they are very time consuming because you will have to meet the word count limit assigned by Dr. J., so starting early on this assignment is a beneficial tip. Now, it will be easier for me as a police officer to recognize all types of social justice and diversity issues among individuals. As a conclusion, finish all your assignments and hand them in on time. Be respectful to your classmates and show recognition to everyone’s opinions, including the teacher. Good luck! ***
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Dear future student,
I will be starting my second year by the time you read this and there are just a few skills and pointers I would like to share with you to make your experience at the JI much more enjoyable. In this class you will be doing daily diversity journals, I recommend doing them on a daily basis and if you struggle at all DO NOT hesitate to speak with Dr J about getting extra help, she is more than happy to help in any aspect. Not only in this class but with your other classes as well make sure you are on top of all your homework and make sure you have thought out a good study plan. Try not to stress out too much while in school, if you struggle at all the whole JI staff is more than happy to help you in anyway you see fit. Never hesitate to ask teachers, staff and classmates for help. This is a learning and friendly environment and you should not feel under pressure or lost. If you wish to meet with students outside of your cohort or in different years or programs do not hesitate to reach out, we are more than happy to help out our fellow classmates and those who need questions answered. I wish you nothing but the best! ***
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Dear future diversity student,
After the first few classes you might make assumptions that this class is a joke, but after time and patience, you’ll realize how important diversity plays a role within society and law enforcement. One of my personal challenges I went through were all the mini assignments. Personally, I’m so used to having larger assignments worth more. My advice to you is to do everything because in this class, every mark counts! To this day, I remember how fun the Surrey Food Bank was. It was amazing to see the people’s facial expressions to the amount of free food available for them. Watching even the younger kids receive baby food was an amazing moment to cherish and keep with me to this day. I must also mention the diversity journals. My best advice to you is to not procrastinate and no matter what, don’t leave it to the day its due, you won’t finish them. I learned that the hard way and it really just puts you in an uncomfortable position. As I personally reflect, overall this class was amazing and so informative in terms of law enforcement. It really opens your eyes to the diversity we have in the world and how important it is to approach and analyze a situation. This course content affected my preparation to law enforcement because we live in such a multicultural country, you are bound to run into scenes where there will be language barriers, people from different racial backgrounds, people who have disabilities, people who come from the LGBTQ community. It has taught me to treat the situation with high respect, never assume a person’s gender but instead ask the individual, “which pronoun do you prefer?”, etc. I wish you the best of luck with this course and hopefully I have given you inspiration or helpful tips for the term. Good luck fellow diversity student! ***
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Hello, and welcome
to the law enforcement in a diverse society, a course that aims to expand on your world view, question your biases and most importantly see things from a different perspective. Now if you’re anything like me, you may be a bit cynical and walk out of the first class wondering, “what is the point of this class?” but trust me when I say it all comes together by the end, and to come every day with an open mind. In diverse society, something you’re going to familiarize yourself with quickly is diversity observation journals. In these journals, you talk about situations you’ve been in throughout the weeks and observe things from different points of views as well as noting your physical and emotional reactions. The journals taught me a lot about myself, and have been my personal biggest takeaway from the class. The Visual Intelligence text in diverse society is a great read as well, and it’s much more interesting than any other textbook we’ve read in the program. The text is memorable and enjoyable which is great since every quiz in diverse society will come right from book, so make sure you read the chapters. Another interesting aspect of the course is you’re going to be assigned groups, and after every quiz, you’re going to take the same quiz again but this time in your group. When you take the quiz a second time as a team, every question you answer correctly goes towards bonus points for your whole group, but only if you pass the quiz. So read and study the textbook, but encourage your team to as well, so you can all succeed together. All, and all diverse society in a very interesting class with a lot to learn. Dr. J is a brilliant and kindhearted instructor who has a lot to offer, so take advantage of this course, learn as much as you can and enjoy law enforcement in a diverse society. ***
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Dear Future Student,
Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society is a beneficial course that you can utilize in a career in policing. Personally, I found the class entertaining and it strengthened the bond between myself and my fellow students in my cohort. Dr. Jessica Motherwell assigned us into groups which we remained with until the end of the semester. It made class a better learning environment because students have group members to assist with the content of the course. You will be assigned daily observation journals, which are worth a significant portion of your grade. The biggest mistake I made throughout this course was doing all the assignments last minute, especially the journals. They are lengthy and will consume a lot of time to complete. Additionally, make sure to read the book that is assigned because you will be tested on each chapter you read. If you ever forget to complete an assignment, there are plenty of opportunities to earn bonus marks, so no need to stress out. Aside from the assignments, you will attend a field trip to the food bank. It was one of the most memorable experiences and I recommend to attend. I never knew volunteering for the food bank would be so much fun. There is a lot to take from this course, so do not take it for granted. Dr. Jessica Motherwell is a fantastic teacher that is genuinely passionate about the subject and wants her students to succeed. You will enjoy this course. ***
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Dear future student,
First of all, hello! Right where you’re sitting right now was where I was on January 05, 2017, at 1300 hours. Just like you I was a student in Dr. Motherwell’s diversity class in second semester. The first thing I want to say is, this class will teach you much, more than you think you know now. You’re probably thinking, “Pfft, yeah right, who the hell are you to say that to me? I’m way smarter than you think I am.” You may be right, maybe you’re already a gifted student, and this class feels like a waste of time, but I was and hopefully still am a, “straight A”, 4.0 GPA student in the LESD 3rd semester so maybe I know what I’m talking about too. This class was fun, and the book was amazing. I usually sell my books after the semester ends to get some money back, but for Visual Intelligence, I feel it taught me so well, I kept it. For the class itself, have fun, Dr. Motherwell is an excellent teacher, and everything she will be teaching you is for a reason, you may not be able to know what she means at the time of her lesson, but when I think back to her lessons as I write this letter, I can remember in detail much of them. Dr. Motherwell is also one of the nicest people you will meet at the JIBC, she has incredible patience, and will try to help you in the class if you’re having trouble as best as she can. There’s going to be some days you will find this class boring, or you find the journals stupid, I understand completely, because I sat next to people who complained all semester long. All I will finish saying is, you will learn to open more than your eyes in this class, and become not just a better candidate for your future law enforcement career, but a better student, and person. ***
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Dear Future Student,
I hope this note finds you well! You are in for a ride. This diversity course is going to teach you so much about stuff that think you already know. This diversity course will teach you the how to respond and act in difficult situations but above all it will teach you to be respectful of others and be a better person. If you ever need someone to speak to and get things off your mind Dr.J is the perfect person to speak to. Me personally I could not have asked for a better instructor to have taught me the ways of a diverse society. If I can tell you one thing it would be, do not ever take anything for granted and be fortunate for what you have. This class will bring you and your cohort closer than ever before and create a connection that will never break. It is a fun class that teaches you so much about everything and as long as you are working hard and doing your work you will succeed. It may seem like an easy class do not underestimate class work. I wish you the best in this class and your semester 2. Keep pushing. Good luck and listen to Dr. J Enjoy the course and have a good time.! ***
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Dear Future Student,
Welcome to Law Enforcement Diversity! I hope you have had a wonderful break and a chance to do some fun activities during the break. As you sit down today and read this, I want to tell you the 3 most important things that I learned during this semester. The first is to hold a friendly attitude during all classes and activities. You may not know it but the people around you could be your friends for life. I know I have treated my cohort with respect and befriended everyone possible! Jessica does a very well job in explaining this friendly attitude to have through many fun activities during the semester such as a food bank trip. The second are the journals you must write during the semester. They are a bit hard to do sometimes as there are many to do, but one thing for sure is the feedback and lessons you learn are of great importance. The journals are a perfect place to talk about your feelings and events that happen around you whether they are positive or not. What I learned from them is rereading them lets you look at your problems that change within 4 months, and see how this class makes a difference in your life. And the third most important thing I can tell you about is the course book. It is by far the best book I have read since I was a kid (Harry Potter), and it has taught me many things like detailed observations. This book is probably the most important material you will cover during the entire semester and I can safely say it will impact your future in law enforcement greatly! This class is not just about diversity, but it plays a great role in preparing you for your future career in law enforcement. I wish I could tell you more but I do not want to spoil anything! I hope you have fun and remember, stay positive and always smile! ***
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Dear Laws 1207 Student,
I hope you’re having a great start to your day so far. I know what you’re going through right now. You might be slightly nervous right now but that’s completely normal but trust me, you have nothing to worry about because this course is amazing. This course has taught me so much and hopefully it will teach you some things you that I’ve learned. This course is one of a kind and I can assure you you’ll have a blast. I was slightly skeptical at first about the course material but as the weeks progressed, things got more interesting. Throughout this course, you’ll have a bunch of reading to do and if I have one tip for you it is to keep up to date with all your reading. That is something I had an issue with at first but as time went by, I got better at it. This course textbook is something like no other. After reading the entire book, it will completely change the way you look and analyze things. Before I read the book, I thought I have magnificent observation skills but after reading the book, it opened my eyes in such a way that I never thought could happen. This is going to be very beneficial in your law enforcement career because making observations is a big part of the job. If I could give you another tip, it would be to participate as much as you can in this course. Even if you are shy like me, I promise it is something you won’t regret. Participate as much as you can because you learn new things every single class and it will aid academically and with your future career. You might find some of the course work challenging but don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for clarification whenever you don’t understand something like me. All in all, I hope you have a great time in Laws 1207 and I can assure you you’re in great hands. Dr. J was by far one of my favourite professors so don’t be shy and have fun. I wish you all the best. ***
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Dear student,
Congratulations on completing Semester 1 and placing the essential building blocks to your LESD career! LAWS 1207 will build upon the things you have learned but focusing more on developing your observation skills. There are things that we normally zone out on when we are in the field but this class will teach you how to critically think about your surroundings and your reactions towards what is happening in the world. Furthermore, you will learn how diversity affects the areas you place yourself in and how to step out of your comfort zone. If there is one thing that was successful for me this semester, it would have to be the diversity- friendly communication style. The way I tend to write e-mails is practically the same but I have implemented some features from diversity-friendly communication to strengthen the integrity of my e-mails. Another success for me was Visual Intelligence in-class activities and practice. These types of in-class activities help you describe more to a scene rather than saying that there were “things”. You must use descriptive words and phrases so that your partner can paint a scene in their minds of a picture that is shown to you. If there was one thing that I could have improved on, it would be the Visual Intelligence quizzes. Make sure to read the assigned chapters twice and twice again at least two days before your tests to ensure that you have understood the material thoroughly. My ultimate goal is to make it into the Vancouver Police Department and to serve in an area that is one of the most diverse areas in Canada. Although I was not able to attend the last two weeks of classes because of a cultural exchange trip, I took my diversity skills with me abroad to Tokyo and taught those about what I have learned in LESD and in return was given knowledge about how social norms are in Japan and noticed a few similarities about how we approach diversity. This course absolutely prepared me for my trip but more importantly, helped me grow as an individual pursuing law enforcement and expanding my horizons and I believe that it will help you as well. I wish you the best of luck on Semester 2 and beyond. ***
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Dear future LESD student,
I hope this letter finds you well in the beginning of the semester. As your second semester has just begun, I understand that you are filled with both anxiety and excitement. When I first came to the diversity class, I was also worried about what I was about to learn. But, I can assure you that some of the lessons you get from this class will be valuable for your future law enforcement career. Your first assignment would probably be “Spice of Life.” I find this assignment particularly challenging because I am not familiar with video editing. Fortunately, I was able to finish it with my brother’s help. Thus, I advise you to ask for a help from your family members or friends whenever you are having problems with your assignments. My second challenging assignment was the journals. I had to write 40 journals about my diversity issues and 4 reflections from my own journals. The reason I found this assignment challenging is because I did not have many issues relating to diversity. Therefore, I recommend you to go out and socialize with your friends, colleagues, and families. You will be able to encounter some diversity issues when you constantly socialize with others. I also like to mention that you must not miss any journal entries because you can fail the course by missing a single journal entry. Lastly, I would like to tell you about the tests. For this class, you will be responsible to read the textbook called “Visual Intelligence.” Then, you will occasionally take some tests about the contents in the book. You need to achieve the average of 50% from the five tests if you want to pass the course. I can assure you that you will easily get over 50% average if you actually do the reading. Please do not try to guess the entire tests as I have seen a student getting a score of 1 out of 10 because he guessed the whole test. Even though I did not like this class in the beginning of the semester, the lessons I got from Dr. J were truly inspiring for me. A number of lessons teach me a better way to deal with social discriminations like racism and sexism. I am sure you will find them useful as well. This course teaches me that police officers should be able to adapt into different cultures. This course also teaches me that police officers in a multicultural nation like Canada must not have any biases or stereotypes toward a specific ethnic group. It is one of the most valuable lessons I have ever had. I hope you will also benefit from this amazing course. I wish you best of luck in your academic success.
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Dear Future Student,
Welcome to the Justice Institute of British Columbia, and Law 1207. I am writing this letter to share my experiences and give you a sneak peek on what is to come. I can assure you that I was extremely nervous on the first day, and especially after the first day of class. I felt if the class was going to be filled with homework and readings. However, Law 1207 is one of my favourite classes thus far. Dr. J, your professor is remarkably awesome. She will bring out the best side of you, and challenge you to be the best student you can possibly be. I do not have the words to describe the love and passion Dr. J will give to you, her love and passion will motivate you to be the best version of yourself. This class is so amazing that you can achieve over 100% in the course. You will be required to do a “spice of life” video. This video will challenge you to pick a spice from your culture and make a 2-minute video on cooking with the spice. This activity taught me the history of many cultures and their uniqueness. You will love making this video and my advice is to challenge yourself and have fun with it, I guarantee that you will learn something fascinating about other cultures and your own. Secondly, I want to tell you about the “diversity observation” journals, these allow you to reflect on your diversity issues and grow from them along the way. The journals were a challenge because there are forty-four that you will write. However, these journals taught me a lot about myself and allowed me to stay positive and motivated to overcome diversity. The last activity I want to tell you about is the tests you are going to be writing in class. The tests are on a book called “Visual Intelligence”, this book will change your life, you will look at the world from a different perspective. You will be challenged to observe and adapt to new techniques that will change your view of the world. Make sure you read each chapter carefully to succeed on the tests, I am sure you will love this book. Dr. J will bring in guests to speak with the class, it is a great opportunity to learn from the guests. This course has taught me a lot about observing, dealing with diversity, different cultures, and about myself, which will all help me prepare for my law enforcement career. I can go on all day, but I am sure you will love this course as much as I did. Good luck and be ready to be part of a once in a life time course with the loving Dr. J.
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Dear Future Cultural Diversity Student,
In order for you to be prepared for your upcoming semester in Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society, I have created this letter in hopes you can be as successful as possible. The biggest challenge you will face this upcoming semester is the Diversity Observations. While on their own they may not pose a threat, the task of trying to complete 10 of them in a week is very daunting. Try to complete at least one a day, or you will be spending hours on your final day trying to recollect you weeks events. Another tough challenge, will be the video sheets. It can be a bit distracting to take notes while watching the video, it is best to make a note of what point in the video you needed to revisit. However, a success you will have is being able to do the aboriginal course as a team, you will learn much more information that way. Be careful when reading visual intelligence not to get to caught up with trying to memorize information. The tests are very short and the chapters are very long. You will not be able to predict what will be on the tests. Make sure to stay on top of your assignments or you will stress yourself out. Make sure to read the chapters carefully. Try and keep and open mind throughout this course and you will develop more empathy and compassion. You will become more culturally aware and diverse! Good luck future cohort.
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Dear future student,
When you first saw “Law Enforcement Diversity” on your course outline, you may have not understood what life skills it would bring to you. This diversity class is going to change how you view your peers, the opposite sex, different religions, and the diverse backgrounds that all people come from. When I first took this course, I was not looking forward to it. I felt it would all be common sense, mundane, repetitive, and boring. Truthfully, it does discuss a lot of things that you would hope are common sense among your peers, but unfortunately, much of what you are going to learn will shift your thinking and broaden your personal horizons. This course challenged me to be more honest with my peers, read material(s) that I would have never read before, and dig deep within myself to not only dissect my emotions, but to analyze them, too. “Visual Intelligence” will be the book assigned for this class… READ IT! That is the best advice I can give you! Truth be told, some of it will be repetitive, but it helps to drive the point home! The book will teach you a lot and help you to see more than just one perspective to things in your everyday life. Moving forward, this course is definitely going to change how I deal with the public in my career in policing. I have more empathy, understanding, and patience for those that I come into contact with daily. Furthermore, I am more transparent with my peers as I have learned that honesty is truly the best policy. Best of luck to you in your future endeavours! ***
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Hello future LESD graduate.
This letter is to inform you about Dr.J’s Law Enforcement in a diverse society class. Here you are, reading this paper… not knowing what to expect. I can tell you this much… This class will open your eyes in such a way that they haven’t been opened before… it will make you look at a picture and read the picture instead of just staring at it. It will teach you to look at someone’s face and notice the different structure and colour that they have. It will assure you that we are all the same. We all have eyes, ears, a nose, hands and legs. That we should treat everyone in an appropriate manner and share love to the world. You will start everyday by having a paragraph read to the class about how this land belongs to the aboriginal people and how it was taken from them. You will also learn to be observant of many diversity and social justice acts being done around you as you will be writing about them in your diversity journals. You will have the gift of being able to read the visual intelligence book which is required to have read to pass the course. I highly encourage you to study this book and appreciate what it has to offer you. If you are lucky, Dr J will be giving you the opportunity to volunteer at a food bank which will change your preservative and motivate you to give back to the community. There is so much love and so much positive energy that will be shared with you throughout this course. I highly advise you to take advantage of this opportunity and to remember that a smile can make the biggest difference. ***
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To a future student:
You will learn a lot from this class that will help you in your law enforcement career, as well as help you grow as a person. One of the most important things you will learn in this class will be from the journals. After writing my first and last journal, I changed a lot for the better. Writing those journals made me for aware of diversity issues that occur on the daily around me, and I learned to stick up for people who suffer from that. Just a simple hello can make a huge difference in someone’s day. Next, the book “Visual intelligence” will also change your perspective tremendously. The book is a real eye opener, and will give you real life scenarios that will help an individual in law enforcement. After reading this book, you will also realize how little details can make the biggest differences in life. This is important because little detail is so important in the law enforcement field, and this book will change how you view things in life. To continue, another valuable thing I learned in this class was on how not to make judgements of people when you don’t know anything about them. All humans make some kinds of assumptions, and stereotype people, but we must stop our mind from having biases. We don’t know what the other person has been through, and this can leave you as a police officer in a bad position. Furthermore, this class will be one of the most fun, and rewarding classes you will take. If you do your work, and show some passion, you will learn a lot of life changing things. For example, one of my favourite thing was learning about different religions, and the types of food dishes they serve. The most important thing I learned from this class was after talking to the Syrian refugees. Sure, we can sit here, and feel bad for them and judge them, but after interacting with them in person, it shows you that they are no different than you and I, and accepting people into your lives despite their religion or where they are from is so important especially living in a multicultural country like Canada. Overall, I guarantee you will enjoy this course to the fullest, and this course will help you tremendously going forward working in law enforcement. ***
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Dear future diversity student,
First most important thing I want to welcome you here at the LESD program at Justice Institute of British Columbia. Congratulations for making one of the best choices in order to enhance your knowledge and to develop yourself into an outstanding candidate for a position in law enforcement. Throughout your two years in the program you will have lots of fun and have lots of stories to share with your friends and family. The thing that you will learn and the things that you will discover about yourself and others will give you some perspective on life and what it takes to be a great law enforcement officer in the future. During your time as a student of diversity program, you will understand the core values of respecting others cultural beliefs, religious beliefs, gender and transgender equality. This is the time where you will optimize your views on life and what it means to understand someone that is in front of you. You understand how to deal with your biases and how to take the negative bias out and how to turn them into a positive. The visual intelligence book is one of the best tools to help you. So make sure you take advantage of it and read every single page of it to help you succeed in this course. My favourite part of this course was the reconciliation portion of the program and I am gratefully for what I have learned about the past and history of Canada. Good luck in your education and future. ***
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Dear Future LESD Student,
Welcome to LAWS1207 Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society taught by Jessica Motherwell. You are in for an exciting semester as this class will provide you with the ability to observe, adapt, and learn various diversity and social justice issues. This course will ensure that you gain extensive knowledge and understanding about controversial topics in our society. The course will take you through a variety of activities, readings, and tests, some that you may enjoy and some that may not be your favourite. You will get a chance to create a ‘Spice of Life Video,’ where you get to be creative and make a dish that represents your culture. This video project will allow you to experience the different cultures in your own classroom. One of my personal favourites was reading the “Visual Intelligence” text by Amy. E. Herman. This book is worth reading as it will prepare you with crucial techniques and methods for your law enforcement career. The activity that I found the most challenging were diversity observations. They were quite time consuming so I would recommend not to leave them for the last minute and start on them as soon as possible. I have learned to look at difficult situations from multiple perspectives and I also learned to separate objective facts from subjective opinions. Through the context of this course, I learned to observe small details, prioritize, and communicate effectively which are all important skills to obtain as I prepare for my future career as a law enforcement officer. I really hope you enjoy this course as much as I did and I wish you the best of luck. ***
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Dear Future Laws 1207 Student,
I hope your first semester went well. One thing I have learned from my two semesters here so far is that time goes by really quickly. In this course you will learn a variety of things. This includes improving your observation skills, learning to distinguish between small details, and ultimately becoming more aware of your surroundings. One of my favourite things from this course was having Syrian refugees come into our class and being able to hear their stories. It was a great experience to learn about Syria before the war and hearing how the refugees were similar to us in some ways but completely different in others. Another thing I really enjoyed from this course was being able to read the book “Visual Intelligence.” It is a book that is read by many law enforcement agencies and it helps you notice all the things you see but don’t observe. One piece of advice I would give you is keeping up with your journals. The journals are a daily entry about some kind of issue or social injustice you came across in your day. Thus, I would say ensure you keep up with them and do not procrastinate till the due date. This class is not so academically based such as English or Law, however, it teaches you about our diverse society and the importance of small differences between everyone. I hope you enjoy this course as much as I did, and I wish you all the best for this semester! ***
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Hello new and wonderful student
and welcome to your first day of Law Enforcement in a Diverse Society. I know that by now you may have already had one semester at the Justice Institute of British Columbia and it is just about to get more interesting. In this course and throughout the semester; you will learn different ways on how to increase your diversity skills and learn how to talk to people from different cultures and ethnical backgrounds. It is an important skill when you are looking for a job in the law enforcement world. Now of course there will be a decent amount of homework in this course; but it is nothing that cannot be done. I personally struggled with the journal entries and at times they were the hardest thing for me to do in this class. All you need to do is believe in yourself and make sure that you study the material. My personal favourite activities in this course were getting to meet the Syrian refugees and helping out at the food bank. These interactions definitely helped get me some life and volunteer experience to take into my law enforcement career. One of my successes in this course was doing the video sheets on the roles of woman in society and how boys are raised in society. The other success was getting to open up to the class about my personal life outside of class which was a big deal for me. Overall, at times I struggled with this class, but I always knew I could count on the rest of my cohort to help me, and you should too. Dr. J is a wonderful teacher and always say thank you when you can. ***
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Dear Future Student,
Congratulations for having made it past the first semester. I know it may seem weird to receive a letter from someone you have never seen, but there is a good reason for this. I’m going to give you some advice that well help you along in the semester. First, let’s talk about the 40 diversity journals you will be required to do throughout the semester. I’m not going to lie, I had initially thought the diversity journals were stupid and a complete waste of time. I held the same thought for half the semester until I finally started seeing results from doing the diversity journals. The journals will help you recognize your subconscious perceptual filters. Perceptual filters are things which process the information you see and put the information together to form an image in your brain while taking out the unnecessary information. The problem with perceptual filters is that they will sometimes make you miss key pieces of information without you realizing it. I know you may not understand what I said, but you will when you read the class textbook which brings me to my second point, READ THE BOOK. Only by reading the book will you be able to fully realize the benefits of the diversity journals; however, if that isn’t a big enough incentive to read the book, maybe the quizzes will be. There will be 5 quizzes which will all be out of 5 marks. If you want to pass the class, you will need at least 12.5 out of 25 or else you fail the class. As long as you manage your time well, nothing in this class will be difficult. In fact, this is the only class without a final in the second semester which will help you at the end of the semester when you’re rushing to finish your 2000 word essays for other classes. Law Enforcement Diverse Society is honestly a fantastic class because much of what you learn can be applied immediately to real life. Make the best use of your time in the class and soak up as much information as you can or else you will regret it. ***