Davis deals (criminal) justice

Kayli Johnson, First-Level Reporter|October 15, 2019

Photo by Kayli Johnson

Criminal Justice Teacher Mr. Philip Davis recently started his second year leading the criminal justice program at Milton High School.

Mr. Davis graduated from Greensburg Central Catholic High School in Greensburg, Pa. which is just east of Pittsburgh. He said he later studied Secondary Education History at Millersville University.

Before teaching criminal justice, Mr. Davis said he spent 25 years as a Pennsylvania State Trooper after graduating from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.

“I have pretty good content knowledge of [criminal justice],” he said. Mr. Davis added he does not miss much from his previous job, but enjoyed the camaraderie he and his fellow troopers shared.

According to Mr. Davis, one of his biggest challenges in the classroom is technology. “My biggest challenge is [that] I don’t know a lot about [it] and the programs and everything we are using are not always user friendly when you don’t know how to use them,” he said.

Mr. Davis said he values learning on paper rather than digitally. “Writing things down helps people learn dramatically,” he added.

Sophomore Riley Godown, a first year Criminal Justice student, said that she really enjoys the class. Riley said that they write a lot and are only allowed to write in uppercase letters. “It’s how police reports are written,” she added.

Riley said she took the class because she wants to become a lawyer or state trooper in the future. “The class is a lot of hard work, but overall it’s really fun,” she added.

In his free time, Mr. Davis said he enjoys reading books and watching his son play football for Wilkes University, but added he does not get much free time.

As well as teaching, Mr. Davis coaches the high school’s football and girls basketball teams. “Most of my time is spent either preparing for a season [or] doing things in the off season,” he said. Mr. Davis added he has recently been taking two courses through Penn State University.

“I’m just glad to be here and I really enjoy teaching. I’m glad to be a part of this community and this school district, and I look forward to being here for a while,” Mr. Davis said.