SUMRALL, Miss. (WDAM) – Back to school is in full swing across the Pinebelt, even for those who have been learning from home long before the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a homeschool parent, it\u2019s hard to juggle a regular job, and I wanted to do something with all three of my degrees,\u201d said Kristin James.<\/p>\n
With a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Forensics, a Bachelor\u2019s in Paralegal Studies and a Master\u2019s in Criminal Justice, James decided to put her credentials to use in the Pine Belt homeschool community.<\/p>\n
James teaches students as young as 11 years old the basics of the law, starting with the supreme court justices up to the amendments and more. Her goal is to show there\u2019s more to law enforcement than police officers.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know you have parole officers, and you have those who work with juveniles in the juvenile justice system,\u201d James said. \u201cYou have court reporters, things like that are also in the criminal justice system and the judicial system.<\/p>\n \u201cYour students or children get the same education as they would in a public school setting, but having this (curriculum) as an alternative (allows you) to find out what they like and what they don\u2019t like as potential careers in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n James\u2019 passion for law enforcement grew over the years, but she said she never thought she would use it this way. It wasn\u2019t until she decided to homeschool her own child that she realized a regular job wouldn\u2019t allow her to both work and teach. So this curriculum became a way to keep doing what she loved.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter some consideration, I figured I\u2019ll just do it myself, you know,\u201d she said. \u201cI have the education. I\u2019m able to build curriculums. I write well. So I wanted to do something that my son would be interested in so we could tailor it to his interest but also make sure that he got the needs that he would get in a public school or private school setting.\u201d<\/p>\n Through her courses, she uses different tools that professionals use in the field to explain her lessons better.<\/p>\n James said she and her son enjoy their four-hour school day compared to a typical school day that usually lasts seven to eight hours.<\/p>\n Copyright 2022 WDAM. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here<\/a> to subscribe to our newsletter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Mom](\"https:\/\/gray-wdam-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v7yeO4wuk-4o0ERvwd_yqvUJlus=\/980x0\/smart\/filters:quality(85)\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/gray\/WHXH4BSTKNGP3E4OQGWX3YXNXQ.png\")
<\/div>![\"James\u2019](\"https:\/\/gray-wdam-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/EERcCwUKAO6vMsINa5bo4H5WFMk=\/980x0\/smart\/filters:quality(85)\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/gray\/PH64F6V2TFCY5BQQHLDURPJWOM.png\")
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