Today, we are going to look at a simulation that occurred last week with scholar age youth, and get feedback from what was realized through this exercise.
If you are a mom with Core or Love of Learning Phase children, sit tight, read up and start asking yourself what you can do to embrace what the future holds.
If you have scholar age youth, I hope you glean inspiration and thought provoking insight.
Regardless of where you are, who you are, or what your station in life currently is, know this…
These are some GREAT young people that give me HOPE in the future!
I firmly believe that we are in good hands, and LOVE the organic approach to the Thomas Jefferson Education process!
If you’re one of the AWESOME scholar age youth in these photos…
Yes!, “You’re REALLY on here today!”
And from me…
the moderator and facilitator of TommyMom…
Know one thing…
YOU ROCK!
The assignment was to research and argue the Dred Scott Decision from both sides of the spectrum.
This involved…
Studying both good and bad forms…
Logic and how it works…
Writing a brief.
Studying what constitutes citizenship…
What it means to be a birthright citizen…
Small group discussion…
Viewing selected YouTube videos…
Discussing what you saw from every possible angle.
Going to the Law Library…
Finding out how to use the resources there to obtain information.
And here we go!…
The big day has arrived.
Selection was deliberate and carefully considered in case more than one scholar age youth from a family was participating…
They were placed on opposing sides.
Openings always consist of a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
The “Supreme Court Justices” entered the courtroom and the trial began.
You listened to opposing counsel and formulated your rebuttal, knowing that you were both being timed.
An unexpected twist for both sides…
the justices begin to insert questions and interact based on the briefs that they had been given.
Presenting counsel was allowed to seek assistance from within their team…
from individuals that had specialized in specific areas of research that were being challenged.
Those individuals were permitted to present based on their findings as well.
Then the Justices took a recess in order to come to their decision.
The courtroom waited…
The verdict was given, after the Justices returned…
The call was given, “All rise!”…
The Marshall announced the Justices…
And in this particular case…
Dred Scott won, based on the arguments presented!
And now for the bigger question…
“It’s been a grueling month!…Can we go back to being friends?!”
So…
I had the privilege of asking these young people for insights into what they had gleaned from this process…
Would you care to hear?
‘I really appreciated the real life experience. It is very different from just reading about something and processing it on that level.’…
‘The benefits of developing the ability to exercise and practice serious teamwork were amazing. Knowing how to work well with others is invaluable.’…
‘The power of persuasion is, well, …POWERFUL!’…
‘I learned to not let up on the resources that you get from research, because even if it may not look like you’re going to need them at the time…you might.’…
‘In the future, it would be beneficial to study even harder for better application.’…
‘It is very difficult to argue from a perspective that you have absolutely no real point of reference for ! Try as I might, I can’t fathom human slavery on this level; and trying to place myself in a position to have this frame of reference was nearly impossible. It made me that much more grateful for the price that has been paid for my personal freedom.’
From a “Justice” ( M-O-M)…
‘I came in with the perspective of looking at how these kids could’ve been better prepared. As I watched how the other two justices operated, I learned a great deal from them both. I then began to look at how I could have prepared better, based on the information in my brief, so that I could’ve been more effective in my delivery and content as well.’ ( Hmmm…could this be “You, Not Them” in action?!?)
From the mentor…
‘I think that I could’ve been far better prepared myself ‘…
‘I would be really interested to see them participate in a simulation again with a more relevant case…
although the citizenship issues were very relevant and the amount of knowledge that they gained from choosing this case
and studying what constitutes citizenship, was invaluable.’
‘I think all in all, they learned some tremendous skills and abilities from going through this process.’
‘To listen to their small group discussion, leading up to this trial was very fulfilling.’
As TommyMom, I will second that. I couldn’t believe their ability to discuss the different angles of this case..
that seemed somewhat boring and irrelevant on many levels when I was in school!
Did they have fun?
They would tell you yes!
Was it difficult?
Again, yes.
Worth it for what they gained?
Absolutely.
Mission accomplished!…
So, what have you gleaned from this?
Anything you need to research or work on?
What holds you back from this activity in your Leadership Education community?
We’d love to hear, so please share!
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