
Trends In Education
TEACHER OF INTEREST
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programs in the United States with Canada.
“In this exercise, I divide the students into groups. You
have 100 points or percentages to give,” he says. “What
percentage do you give to people with certain job skills, who
have certain language skills, and what percentage do you assign
to someone who is in a refugee status?”
Another topic that Steele covers is purposes for punishment,
where he challenges students to analyze and dig deep
while tackling the subject.
“I’ll give them a hypothetical: Somebody has a second DUI
and the prior DUI had an accident, so what’s the penalty?” he
asks. “The best students say, ‘I want to know more information.’
But then you’ll see that there’s not one magical right answer.
What’s the appropriate penalty? How much jail? Should
we suspend people’s licenses? Should we make them do community
service? Should it be different for somebody based on
their mental health issues or substance abuse issues?”
Steele especially enjoys helping students with diverse
backgrounds come together as they exchange opinions on a
controversial subject.
“This comes from my training as a mediator, which is to
try and bring people together,” he says. “We might have
someone who’s a law enforcement officer with prior military
experience in the Middle East and somebody who is active in
the Black Lives Matter movement. And you put them in the
same class and you say, ‘What can we learn?’ We’ll have a hypothetical,
and by the end of the course, you can see people
with very different opinions having a much deeper respect
for what it’s like to walk in the other person’s shoes.”
Steele points out that the coursework is designed to be
practical so students can learn real-world skills that they can
take into the workplace. Being a judge, he adds, allows him
to bring that real-world experience into the classroom.
“That’s the neat part about being a judge and an adjunct
professor, is I can say here’s the types of cases that we had
in court yesterday, and how would you analyze them?” he
explains. “Part of it is also modeling behavior. People think
judges are faraway figures that you can’t talk to. So, for the
class to see somebody who is a judge, who talks about getting
to go to their kids’ sports games or having the same issues
that everybody else has, I think is helpful.”
Being an adjunct professor involves more than helping his
class understand the law and applying it to everyday circumstances.
Steele says sometimes students need a sounding board
— someone to offer them guidance for their personal lives.
“A lot of times, students will come to me after class and
have questions like, ‘How do I get on with the sheriff’s
agency; what are they looking for?’ ” he says. “It can be as
simple as explaining the difference in costs between a state
versus a private law school or where to get assistance to pay
for textbooks. It can run the gamut.”
Steele also enjoys being a mentor to his students, offering
words of encouragement and helping them persevere during
those challenging times.
“Some of them have so much going on with their life —
like work and family responsibilities that they get discouraged,”
he says. “I’ve sat more than a few down and had the
pep talk, ‘Hey, you really can do this. You may feel overwhelmed,
but look at the quality of your work, and I think
this is really worth pursuing.’ They stick through and earn a
bachelor’s degree or training in their field.”
Helping to build an educated public one student at a time
is what keeps this judge in the classroom. Steele wants to
open people’s minds and turn them onto various legal subjects,
so they are better informed and prepared for successful
careers.
“The neat thing about a local college is these are students
who want to be there,” he says. “It’s not mandatory. They
have to be excited and interested and want to learn.”
Steele’s classes are interactive, encouraging students to participate and delve
into interesting aspects of the law.
DARREN STEELE
Lives in: Martin County
Age: 51
School: Indian River State College
Family: wife, Nereida; son, Lucas;
daughter, Katie
Education: Bachelor’s degree,
Tulane University; Juris Doctor,
University of Wyoming; Summer
certificate in Comparative Law from Hebrew University of
Jerusalem and University of Guanajuato
Background: “When I became a lawyer, I was a public defender
for four years. Then I worked at a prominent law firm
for two years, and then worked in a two-man law office for
nine years.”
How I got into teaching: “I always wanted to teach, but
wasn’t sure how to get into it. I talked to Judge Bill Roby who
was a teacher, and he recommended me to Beth Raulerson
who is the head of the legal program at IRSC.”
What I like best about teaching: “The best part is helping
students see both sides of an argument and watching them
come to appreciate others’ points of view.”
Something that my students don’t know about me: “I enjoy
weightlifting, target shooting, and once did amateur bullfighting
in Spain.”
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