Clarksville, TN – Getting kids to school simply requires a bus and a semi-awake child. Getting kids to actually look forward to learning is a much bigger challenge.
How many times has your child asked you why they need to learn Algebra or Chemistry? How many times have you tried to relate it to something interesting but came up short? Tying school learning objectives to the interests of teens is an age-old challenge, but always worth the effort.
Mark Wojnarek, Investigative Sergent with the Special Victims Unit of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office understands that challenge firsthand.
Growing up, he enjoyed school but never really connected with the far-reaching corners of standardized education.
It wasn’t until he pursued a career in law enforcement, particularly in forensics, that he really looked back and wished he had given every subject in school his ultimate effort.
Now, as supervisor and a father, he sees the need to help students connect learning and writing skills with their futures. His love of forensics is contagious, and as a 2013 graduate of the Forensics Academy at UT Knoxville, he is passionate about passing this zeal on to students in Clarksville.
Wojnarek has volunteered to partner with Advantage Learning Center, a home school tutorial center located on Wilma Rudolph to host a competitive, educational, and exciting Forensic Academy for students in grades 8-12 in the home school community.
The ALC Forensic Academy students will engage in hands-on instruction, critical thinking skills and high-level writing skills. Areas of focus will include projectile flight path reconstruction, bloodstain pattern analysis, trace evidence, latent print collection and identification, entomology, anthropology, crime scene management, and forensic photography.
For the 24 fortunate and bright students selected for the Forensic Academy, learning will have a framework the students can get excited about.
Academy Students will get their own specifically designed forensic kits for the lectures and labs. These kits will be exactly like the Crime Scene Investigator working in the field now carries. The students will also hone team-building concepts to accomplish benchmarks set throughout the year, as well as compete in area crime scene forensic competitions.
To learn more about the Forensic Academy, attend an informational meeting at ALC in the LEAP building on Wilma Rudolph on August 19th at 5:30pm, or call 931.648.2665.
