Tapped In Member Perspectives: Meet Paul Bohac
Paul retired after thirty years in juvenile and adult corrections. The majority of his work in both arenas was in correctional education and in correctional special education, either as a teacher, consultant or administrator.
Paul's Perspective
Following my retirement, I have been actively pursuing a Doctorate. To supplement my retirement income, I worked as an adjunct instructor for a University through a grant-funded project and currently for a local Community College. All of the courses I have been teaching have been on-line. It was through one of those University on-line courses that I met BJ Berquist (she was a student in one of the classes) and through her I was introduced to the Tapped In Community.
When she asked if I would be willing to serve as a forum leader, I was skeptical. Although I visited the Tapped In site and was impressed with its diversity of topics and the level of involvement of the participants, I was not sure my role as a forum leader would be productive to forum members or would be worth the commitment of time and energy it would require. Not to mention, what would an ex-correctional educator be able to offer the special education community?
What I learned though, after agreeing to serve as a forum leader, was that education of individuals with disabilities faces the same problems whether in a public school classroom, a private school classroom or inside the walls of a prison. What I also learned from forum participants has enhanced my on-line instructional activities with the local community college. It has become a very exciting, rewarding professional experience that I look forward to each month. Perhaps my involvement can help teachers of students with disabilities to become more sensitive to the individual students in their class and how some of the "behavioral problems" exhibited by their students might warrant closer examination. It is easier to help a child to achieve in the classroom than it is to help a youth or an adult to overcome the lack of classroom achievement.