Everyday Educator - Mock Trial, Challenge B’s Capstone
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:03.040 | - Welcome friends to this episode
00:00:05.480 | of the "Everyday Educator" podcast.
00:00:08.240 | I'm your host, Lisa Bailey,
00:00:10.040 | and I'm excited to spend some time with you today
00:00:13.020 | as we encourage one another, learn together,
00:00:16.960 | and ponder the delights and challenges
00:00:19.720 | that make homeschooling the adventure of a lifetime.
00:00:23.120 | Whether you're just considering
00:00:25.200 | this homeschooling possibility
00:00:27.360 | or deep into the daily delight of family learning,
00:00:31.640 | I believe you'll enjoy thinking along with us.
00:00:34.860 | But don't forget,
00:00:36.160 | although this online community is awesome,
00:00:39.600 | you'll find even closer support in a local CC community.
00:00:44.600 | So, go to classicalconversations.com
00:00:48.480 | and find a community near you today.
00:00:52.840 | Well listeners, I'm happy to be back with you
00:00:55.360 | for this episode.
00:00:56.500 | We are gonna be talking mock trial.
00:00:59.440 | Mock trial is the capstone event of Challenge B.
00:01:04.440 | And I remember as a young parent thinking,
00:01:09.560 | I know nothing about trials, mock or otherwise,
00:01:14.440 | and I don't know how to shepherd my student
00:01:17.420 | through this process.
00:01:18.360 | And I had tons of questions.
00:01:20.240 | And even as a Challenge B tutor,
00:01:22.920 | I wasn't sure that I knew what I needed to know
00:01:25.400 | in order to help my students
00:01:27.040 | get the most out of the experience.
00:01:30.480 | So, we are gonna approach all of those questions
00:01:34.240 | and more with a good expert today.
00:01:37.480 | I have with me Emily Martin,
00:01:39.880 | and Emily is the academic advisor with CCMM.
00:01:44.880 | She helps directors and parents help their students
00:01:49.060 | get the very most out of everything Challenge B related.
00:01:54.160 | And Emily actually oversees Challenge A, B and 1.
00:01:59.160 | So she knows where these B students are coming from,
00:02:03.960 | and she knows where they're going.
00:02:06.260 | So Emily, I appreciate you being with us
00:02:09.160 | to share your knowledge with all of us.
00:02:11.880 | - Well, thank you for having me today.
00:02:14.160 | - I think it's gonna be a fun conversation.
00:02:16.800 | Full disclosure, I love Challenge B.
00:02:20.600 | I've taught other levels,
00:02:22.800 | but I keep coming back to the fact
00:02:24.600 | that I think I just must be an eighth grader at heart
00:02:27.200 | because I love Challenge B.
00:02:29.640 | And I will confess that mock trial
00:02:33.280 | was one of my favorite parts about Challenge B.
00:02:36.440 | So maybe I'm slightly prejudiced,
00:02:39.280 | but I think there's something for everybody to love.
00:02:43.040 | Now, Emily, I happen to know
00:02:44.760 | that you also have tutored Challenge B for years.
00:02:49.040 | So you know what families are like
00:02:51.120 | when they first come into the program.
00:02:53.240 | What do they have the most questions about
00:02:56.460 | when they first come in and they're wondering
00:02:58.880 | what is it their students are gonna study this year?
00:03:01.040 | What about Challenge B gets their radar pinging?
00:03:05.840 | - Yeah, I think the biggest thing
00:03:08.720 | that most parents are unfamiliar with
00:03:12.000 | when they go into B really is the logic,
00:03:15.760 | the formal logic, it's our reasoning strand.
00:03:18.880 | And because it can be a little intimidating
00:03:22.560 | if it's something you're unfamiliar with.
00:03:25.560 | So I think that's the biggest thing
00:03:27.360 | that parents are questioning
00:03:30.260 | when they look at the B curriculum.
00:03:33.240 | - Yep, yep.
00:03:34.080 | - And I would say they are unfamiliar,
00:03:37.360 | but kind of excited about mock trial.
00:03:41.200 | - Yeah, it sounds like some, well, okay.
00:03:45.120 | It does sound like it might be more fun than formal logic.
00:03:48.840 | I will admit that.
00:03:49.800 | - Yes.
00:03:50.620 | (both laughing)
00:03:51.680 | - And you're right.
00:03:52.520 | Even if they're not familiar with it,
00:03:54.320 | it sounds like something that they would like to explore
00:03:57.960 | along with their student.
00:03:59.920 | That's really true.
00:04:00.840 | Have you had many parents
00:04:02.680 | in the years that you've been tutoring B,
00:04:05.680 | have you had many parents that have mock trial experience?
00:04:10.440 | - Other than the occasional attorney parent?
00:04:13.840 | No, I think very few have any experience with it.
00:04:17.560 | So I think most parents enjoy going through the process
00:04:20.880 | with their child.
00:04:22.360 | - I think you're right.
00:04:23.600 | This is really funny.
00:04:24.600 | I was part of a community that was very old.
00:04:29.480 | Like I joined in 2004 and that was their third year.
00:04:34.360 | So this community had been at it for a while.
00:04:37.640 | And so I tutored for many years
00:04:41.720 | in a community that was very deep.
00:04:44.200 | And so I ended up with students and parents
00:04:48.920 | who had been through it with a sibling before.
00:04:53.720 | So a lot of times I had families
00:04:57.360 | that were familiar with mock trial
00:04:59.800 | even if the current student was kind of green.
00:05:03.960 | So that makes a difference too.
00:05:06.600 | - It does, yeah.
00:05:08.360 | - So just for listeners that we have
00:05:11.320 | who maybe they don't have a child in Challenge B yet,
00:05:16.000 | they're just thinking what's gonna come next
00:05:18.160 | or what is this mock trial of which you speak?
00:05:20.920 | Describe the whole,
00:05:23.680 | 'cause it is a semester long course or project really.
00:05:28.680 | Describe it for us just in simple terms
00:05:33.480 | that we non-lawyers can understand.
00:05:35.920 | - Sure, okay.
00:05:36.760 | So I'll go through the parts of it
00:05:38.400 | and then I'll delve into the details.
00:05:41.920 | - Okay, that's awesome.
00:05:43.200 | - So the first thing is the mock trial notebook.
00:05:46.240 | Everybody has access to the mock trial notebook.
00:05:49.160 | They read through the case summary,
00:05:51.600 | like what is the case?
00:05:54.600 | - Right, okay.
00:05:55.440 | So that's where they get the story
00:05:58.560 | that they're playing with, right?
00:06:00.960 | - Right, and then they'll read through the evidence,
00:06:03.800 | they develop a strategy and then they tell the story.
00:06:07.240 | And that is the day of the mock trial.
00:06:09.720 | So the mock trial notebook,
00:06:11.800 | it's the rules of the whole mock trial.
00:06:15.920 | We want all teams to go into it
00:06:19.600 | with the same rules and regulations, if you will,
00:06:23.240 | so that there are no surprises on the day of.
00:06:25.880 | So that if we have really an even playing field
00:06:30.160 | among the teams.
00:06:32.280 | The mock trial also, it's the entire case.
00:06:35.440 | It's the evidence.
00:06:36.680 | Nobody should use anything outside
00:06:40.200 | of the mock trial notebook.
00:06:43.160 | - Okay, so they don't make up stuff that goes into there.
00:06:46.840 | Okay, got it, got it.
00:06:48.600 | - I mean, there might be the occasional,
00:06:50.280 | well, wait, what is this word?
00:06:51.720 | I don't even know what this word means.
00:06:53.200 | And they might look it up, but that's okay.
00:06:56.680 | But as far as--
00:06:57.520 | - They don't add evidence or add parts to the story
00:07:00.600 | that aren't provided for everybody.
00:07:02.640 | - Correct, yes.
00:07:03.680 | - Gotcha.
00:07:05.200 | - So one kid might have a parent
00:07:07.960 | who is a construction worker
00:07:09.640 | and they really know all the ins and outs of a crane.
00:07:12.840 | But unfortunately, you can only use
00:07:15.560 | what's in the mock trial notebook.
00:07:17.600 | - Gotcha, gotcha.
00:07:19.120 | - Yeah.
00:07:19.960 | - Good reminder.
00:07:21.400 | - From there, they read the case summary.
00:07:24.080 | It's the facts of what happened
00:07:26.240 | on the day of the event in question during the trial.
00:07:30.640 | So they read all the background information about the case.
00:07:34.160 | They learn the characters who was involved in the case.
00:07:38.520 | From there, they'll read the witness statements.
00:07:41.240 | They have, we have five witnesses and the students.
00:07:45.400 | They read the witness statements.
00:07:47.200 | They reread the witness statements.
00:07:49.360 | They summarize the witness statements.
00:07:51.440 | They rewrite the witness statements.
00:07:53.560 | - Yes, yeah.
00:07:54.400 | - They know these people in and out.
00:07:57.440 | - Yes.
00:07:58.280 | - They will spend weeks reading the witness statements
00:08:02.200 | and really diving in.
00:08:04.280 | - Yeah.
00:08:05.320 | - That's the heart of the trial.
00:08:07.720 | - Yep.
00:08:08.560 | - And then they'll read through all the evidence
00:08:10.400 | and they put the pieces together and they figure out,
00:08:13.480 | oh, well, this guy keeps talking
00:08:14.840 | about the weather on the day.
00:08:17.360 | And then you dig through the evidence.
00:08:19.040 | Oh, look, there's a weather report.
00:08:21.120 | Then they figure out why is this important?
00:08:23.480 | - Yes.
00:08:25.680 | - And then about a third of the way through the semester,
00:08:29.320 | the director or tutor assigns the students
00:08:31.880 | their roles.
00:08:33.200 | And depending on the size of the challenge B group
00:08:36.480 | that year, the students may play one role.
00:08:39.480 | They may play two roles,
00:08:40.800 | but each team will have two to four attorneys.
00:08:45.040 | They'll have all their witnesses in the bailiff.
00:08:48.080 | And at that point, it's up to the students as a group
00:08:52.240 | to come up with how they'll question their witnesses,
00:08:57.240 | the strategy they're going to come up with.
00:09:00.400 | - Wow. - They really learn their roles.
00:09:02.280 | They gather their costumes.
00:09:05.360 | And then that all leads up to the day of the mock trial
00:09:09.440 | where they will present it to a judge.
00:09:12.800 | - Wow. - And then the important part
00:09:14.160 | is on the day of that mock trial,
00:09:16.920 | aside from the judge and the administrator,
00:09:21.000 | they are not allowed to speak to any other adults.
00:09:23.720 | - Wow. - It is up to them.
00:09:25.440 | - So they're really on their own, but they've practiced.
00:09:28.120 | They've prepared for a whole semester.
00:09:30.160 | - Exactly, yes.
00:09:31.640 | And so the role of the director at this point or the tutor
00:09:35.320 | is they oversee the discussion and the communication.
00:09:40.320 | And that's also the role of the parent at home
00:09:44.120 | is they have to be careful to not coach,
00:09:47.680 | not tell them what questions to ask,
00:09:50.440 | but they ask the questions to the student.
00:09:52.920 | They say, "Oh, well, hey, they have a weather report
00:09:55.960 | "here in the evidence.
00:09:57.680 | "Why do you think that's important?"
00:09:59.080 | - "Where does that fit?
00:10:01.320 | "Where might that fit in?"
00:10:02.960 | - Yeah, there's this piece of garbage that they found
00:10:05.480 | that they stuck in this evidence folder.
00:10:07.160 | Why is that piece of trash important to the case?
00:10:10.800 | So what do you think?
00:10:12.360 | So it's a lot of learning to ask your students
00:10:17.360 | the good questions and that will lead them
00:10:20.760 | to where they need to go.
00:10:22.440 | And they eventually, it starts off as a confusing process.
00:10:27.160 | But over time, they sort out these puzzle pieces
00:10:31.040 | and they create the bigger picture by the end.
00:10:35.200 | And they really grasp it at the end
00:10:37.080 | and it's a really beautiful process to watch.
00:10:39.720 | - Oh, Emily, that sounds so encouraging.
00:10:42.800 | I'm gonna ask you this question that all of my parents,
00:10:46.520 | every year, I taught B for a long time,
00:10:49.000 | I got this question every year.
00:10:51.480 | Can eighth graders really do this?
00:10:54.920 | Can they really do this?
00:10:56.160 | It seems, even just listening to you describe it so clearly
00:11:01.160 | and in such a simple way, I see why parents ask.
00:11:08.640 | How are eighth graders,
00:11:11.240 | how are our classical conversations?
00:11:14.760 | Eighth graders, these are 13 year olds,
00:11:17.000 | how are they prepared to do that?
00:11:20.240 | - They absolutely can do it.
00:11:22.120 | And I think many of them, what I saw in my students
00:11:25.480 | was excitement and then fear in the headlights.
00:11:30.480 | - Yes, yes.
00:11:31.600 | - A little bit of anxiety.
00:11:33.280 | And then it all comes together and they learn,
00:11:36.680 | wait, we can do this.
00:11:38.280 | They learn to wrestle with the hard things.
00:11:41.640 | - Yes, I love that.
00:11:42.880 | - And you have to remind them,
00:11:46.280 | hey, you've spent years in foundations
00:11:50.000 | working on your presentation skills.
00:11:52.160 | Remember all that formal logic we were doing
00:11:54.600 | through the reasoning strand
00:11:56.120 | and then challenge A, the analogies.
00:11:58.640 | You learn to think the complicated thoughts.
00:12:03.320 | The logic strand as they're working through their math
00:12:05.840 | and their algebra, they're moving variables around
00:12:09.080 | and figuring out how to work this formula,
00:12:13.360 | which is what they're doing in mock trial.
00:12:14.840 | They're moving things around and laying it out.
00:12:17.440 | So their brain has already been working
00:12:20.480 | on these skills over time.
00:12:23.360 | - Oh, that's great.
00:12:24.600 | - And their brain knows how to transfer that information.
00:12:28.640 | And then the persuasive essays that they've been working on
00:12:31.600 | for the past year and a half.
00:12:33.720 | They have learned how to formulate good arguments already.
00:12:38.720 | Just the format is different,
00:12:41.080 | but they absolutely can do it.
00:12:43.000 | - Yes, and also going on in the same semester,
00:12:47.240 | they're writing their own short story.
00:12:49.520 | So they have seen all the elements of a short story,
00:12:54.520 | the rising action and the hook and the character development
00:13:00.520 | and how to milk the suspense
00:13:02.920 | and how to tie all the ends together.
00:13:05.320 | They can use those same kinds of skills
00:13:08.600 | in the story they create through testimony
00:13:12.920 | for the mock trial.
00:13:14.520 | Really it comes down to who tells the most compelling story.
00:13:17.920 | - Right.
00:13:18.920 | - And so that is really cool.
00:13:20.720 | I would have to agree with you.
00:13:22.440 | I had parents say every year,
00:13:23.960 | I think this is too much for these students.
00:13:26.520 | I think this is just asking too much of them.
00:13:29.200 | But I agree with you.
00:13:30.680 | I see it come together and you're right.
00:13:34.000 | It does look like a bunch of buzzing bees at the beginning
00:13:38.080 | and they're just kind of bumbling around.
00:13:40.800 | But if they will listen to you as you lay out the process
00:13:46.480 | and if they will work the process and wrestle together,
00:13:51.480 | they create something that they and their parents
00:13:55.640 | could not possibly imagine
00:13:57.120 | that they could do with such grace.
00:13:58.920 | I think that's really amazing.
00:14:01.840 | So what have you seen your students learn by participating?
00:14:06.840 | 'Cause you talked about that they are using
00:14:13.720 | and continuing to sharpen their skills of logical thinking
00:14:18.720 | and moving variables around.
00:14:22.680 | They are working on their persuasive speech skills.
00:14:26.960 | I love that you brought out
00:14:28.440 | they're learning to ask good questions
00:14:31.920 | 'cause parents and the tutors
00:14:34.920 | model the asking of good questions.
00:14:37.680 | But the student mock trial
00:14:39.760 | is all about asking the best question
00:14:43.880 | to elicit the information you want to come out.
00:14:46.920 | What else?
00:14:47.760 | What did the students learn by participating in mock trial?
00:14:51.200 | Well, I think one thing that they really learn how to do
00:14:55.600 | and they've done it for years,
00:14:57.080 | but this is kind of in a different way is attend.
00:15:00.960 | They have to attend to the information given to them.
00:15:05.800 | And so many details, right?
00:15:07.760 | There's so many details.
00:15:09.480 | And what is important to one person,
00:15:11.840 | another person may not find it to be important
00:15:14.160 | until they say, "No, this is important
00:15:17.240 | because in another student, I had no idea.
00:15:19.960 | I never thought of it that way."
00:15:21.640 | Oh, wow, I missed that, yeah.
00:15:23.360 | It's like reading your Bible.
00:15:24.480 | You can read it 15 times
00:15:26.720 | and get something new every single time.
00:15:29.800 | Oh, what a good point.
00:15:30.920 | That's a great analogy, Emily.
00:15:32.600 | Yeah, so they really have to learn to attend to the detail,
00:15:37.360 | which is something they learned how to do way early on
00:15:40.560 | and when they're five years old,
00:15:42.240 | when they're studying a flower, they're attending,
00:15:45.040 | but this is a different way to attend to something.
00:15:47.360 | They're also learning comparison.
00:15:49.080 | They're saying, "Wow, okay, well, this witness,
00:15:51.320 | he's saying this, but this witness is saying this.
00:15:56.160 | Okay, let's compare these."
00:15:58.560 | Yes.
00:15:59.400 | Yeah, so they're really looking at that comparison
00:16:01.560 | and the circumstances under which the event happened.
00:16:04.920 | So they're looking at their circumstances.
00:16:07.200 | And considering what's possible and what's not possible.
00:16:11.000 | Exactly, yes.
00:16:12.600 | Yeah, and like, "Well, wait, well, this character
00:16:14.440 | is saying, well, something was happening here.
00:16:16.200 | This one's saying this was going on elsewhere.
00:16:19.000 | How did those relate to each other?
00:16:20.920 | What's the relationship between this guy and that guy?"
00:16:24.520 | And of course, testimony.
00:16:25.680 | You know, all the information and the facts.
00:16:28.880 | Yeah, and then on the day,
00:16:32.160 | as they're preparing for the day of.
00:16:33.800 | So most of that happens beforehand, right?
00:16:36.120 | You know, in the weeks leading up to the big event.
00:16:39.040 | Right, what you do in class and what they do at home, right.
00:16:42.520 | Yeah, but about the week or two before,
00:16:45.040 | at that point, they're really working
00:16:47.200 | on the five canons of rhetoric.
00:16:49.600 | So they're saying, "Okay, what do I already know
00:16:52.360 | about what happened?"
00:16:53.920 | Perhaps it's the attorney preparing their opening statement
00:16:56.680 | or the closing statement.
00:16:58.880 | Then they're inventing their speech.
00:17:01.880 | They're arranging it.
00:17:03.840 | They're putting things in order.
00:17:05.760 | Like, "Okay, maybe I should bring up this point first.
00:17:08.960 | And then I'm gonna talk about this aspect of the case."
00:17:12.640 | They're choosing their style, right?
00:17:13.960 | They're working on their elocution
00:17:15.920 | and the delivery, the actual delivery.
00:17:18.400 | And all of them really go through those steps,
00:17:21.560 | whether they're a witness or an attorney.
00:17:23.960 | Absolutely.
00:17:24.800 | Because they have to, as the witnesses,
00:17:26.480 | they're playing the character.
00:17:27.640 | Like, "Okay, how am I gonna play this character?
00:17:29.720 | What style, what attitude is this person gonna have?
00:17:33.120 | Yeah, should I cry?
00:17:34.960 | I don't know."
00:17:36.120 | Yes, yes.
00:17:37.520 | Oh my goodness, yeah.
00:17:39.320 | All of it adds up to the total experience,
00:17:42.720 | which adds to the persuasion of your team's story.
00:17:47.600 | Yes.
00:17:48.440 | And so really, I mean,
00:17:49.720 | the mock trial is a beautiful example
00:17:52.480 | of how all of the 15 skills come together
00:17:56.840 | for one capstone event.
00:17:59.240 | Yeah.
00:18:00.080 | I find that to be really true.
00:18:03.640 | In the years that I did BE,
00:18:05.200 | I saw my students sharpen all of those skills,
00:18:09.600 | like you said, of attending and of arranging
00:18:12.680 | and of comparing and of delivering.
00:18:15.360 | All of those.
00:18:17.080 | And then there were new attitudes
00:18:20.960 | and other skills that I watched the students
00:18:25.240 | gain or sharpen that they were gonna be able
00:18:30.000 | to take forward.
00:18:31.920 | You know, they have to learn to work as a team.
00:18:36.240 | Right.
00:18:37.640 | You know, a lot of the work that our students do,
00:18:40.480 | even they come to the community day
00:18:44.400 | and they wrestle with ideas,
00:18:45.760 | but then they go home and what they do at home
00:18:48.240 | is really what determines a good bit of their success.
00:18:51.640 | But mock trial is very different.
00:18:53.440 | It is a team sport and there's not a...
00:18:57.840 | The assessment at the end is very much dependent
00:19:02.320 | on the team and how well people prepare and work together.
00:19:07.240 | So one of the things that I always found students learned
00:19:12.080 | was how to work together well, how to cooperate.
00:19:16.440 | What are some other attitudes or skills
00:19:19.640 | or even experiences that you've watched your students
00:19:23.760 | have and create that they can take forward
00:19:26.520 | to upper challenges?
00:19:28.000 | Right, I think the working together as a team
00:19:30.400 | is most important.
00:19:33.280 | For most of these students,
00:19:34.360 | this is the biggest task or project they've had to do.
00:19:38.120 | Yes, the most public facing one anyway.
00:19:41.840 | Yeah, and they're learning how to do this with other people.
00:19:46.240 | And this might be one of the first times
00:19:49.720 | they're really having to come together
00:19:51.160 | and collaborate on something big.
00:19:54.040 | So they are learning to work together
00:19:56.120 | and they're learning those communication skills.
00:19:58.680 | They're learning humility, admit when,
00:20:01.840 | "Oh, you know what?
00:20:02.680 | "I was wrong about this.
00:20:03.840 | "You're right.
00:20:04.680 | "It says it right here in the mock trial notebook."
00:20:06.200 | - Yeah, or your way is better, yeah.
00:20:08.800 | - Yeah, they are having to set aside their own ideas
00:20:13.720 | and admit that somebody else's idea was better.
00:20:17.120 | They're learning how to lay out the groundwork
00:20:20.520 | for a huge project.
00:20:21.800 | So they're learning time management skills.
00:20:24.240 | - That's great.
00:20:25.160 | - They might be learning administration skills,
00:20:28.000 | like organization, how to use a Google Docs sheet
00:20:33.000 | or something like that.
00:20:34.120 | - Oh, wow, true.
00:20:35.680 | - So they can share their information with one another
00:20:38.120 | via email whenever they're having...
00:20:40.880 | So because, again, we're talking about 13 year olds,
00:20:43.760 | they don't have the control
00:20:44.840 | over their parents' calendar either.
00:20:46.840 | So they're still having to work together.
00:20:49.960 | So sometimes those can't always be face-to-face meetings.
00:20:53.080 | So a lot of students in today's technology,
00:20:55.720 | they'll meet over a video call.
00:20:58.080 | They'll share documents via email with one another
00:21:02.040 | so they can work on their project.
00:21:04.800 | So they're learning so many other skills in doing this.
00:21:09.800 | But I think some of the biggest ones were the communication
00:21:13.840 | and the humility, really, is a big one
00:21:16.360 | because 13 year olds,
00:21:20.200 | they're dealing with a lot of growing up at this point
00:21:23.720 | in their lives.
00:21:25.080 | And so learning how to do these things gracefully
00:21:29.280 | is a big skill that they're learning.
00:21:31.160 | - My daughter says that part of growing up
00:21:36.560 | is learning that it's not ready, fire, aim.
00:21:41.440 | It's ready, aim, fire.
00:21:43.320 | And so our 13 year olds sometimes speak before they think
00:21:48.120 | and they empty their gun before they really consider
00:21:52.040 | where should I be shooting?
00:21:53.320 | And so you're right.
00:21:54.480 | That is learning to communicate
00:21:56.680 | and work with humility and grace
00:22:00.800 | and offer mercy both to your teammates and to yourself.
00:22:05.240 | Another thing that I think is absolutely huge
00:22:07.800 | that students gain by participating
00:22:11.080 | is a huge measure of confidence.
00:22:14.800 | - Yes.
00:22:16.120 | - They come in and this is a big task.
00:22:20.920 | I mean, this is,
00:22:22.120 | I've had judges for mock trial before.
00:22:25.880 | Like we would go and recruit real judges
00:22:29.600 | to be the judges in the trial
00:22:31.160 | and they would address the teams after the event was over
00:22:35.720 | and they would just be kind of looking at these kids.
00:22:37.760 | I've had judges say, "Now, who coached your team?"
00:22:43.080 | "Well, this group of homeschool mommas did."
00:22:45.880 | And you know, "And how old are y'all?"
00:22:49.000 | "13."
00:22:50.320 | And they would just shake their head in wonderment
00:22:52.480 | and say, "There are law school students
00:22:55.160 | who have never done a mock trial like this before.
00:22:58.640 | They are in law school and they've not done this."
00:23:01.760 | So the confidence that it inspires in our children
00:23:05.520 | that they can do a hard thing
00:23:08.240 | and with perseverance and teamwork do it well is huge.
00:23:13.240 | I mean, parents come to mock trial
00:23:17.680 | on the day of the real mock trial
00:23:19.720 | and they look and they have told me later,
00:23:23.360 | "I didn't recognize my son.
00:23:25.600 | I didn't recognize my daughter.
00:23:26.920 | They became somebody else.
00:23:29.040 | I didn't know they had that in them."
00:23:31.520 | And the students don't know either until it comes out
00:23:34.920 | and then they know that they were able to do it.
00:23:38.800 | And that's great.
00:23:40.000 | It's a huge shot in the arm of confidence.
00:23:43.280 | - It is.
00:23:44.120 | And it's so beautiful to see the confidence
00:23:47.360 | that comes through this whole process.
00:23:49.400 | There was the father of one of my students
00:23:53.920 | or is an attorney.
00:23:56.120 | And when she was working on her mock trial case,
00:24:00.040 | he said, "This is more in depth than what we did
00:24:03.240 | in mock trial here in law school."
00:24:06.040 | - It's so amazing.
00:24:07.320 | It's just amazing.
00:24:08.480 | Our kids are used to working hard
00:24:11.680 | and producing excellent results.
00:24:13.880 | And so that's how they work.
00:24:16.120 | What do you think, Emily,
00:24:18.600 | what have you seen as the most challenging thing
00:24:21.200 | for students to learn in mock trial?
00:24:24.280 | So what's the hardest thing for them as they come into this
00:24:28.800 | and how can we as parents help with this?
00:24:32.840 | - Yeah, so I think one of the biggest things,
00:24:36.160 | well, of course, you know, we said working together,
00:24:37.880 | so coaching them through the open communication
00:24:40.160 | and not get heated.
00:24:41.640 | - Right, don't get your feelings hurt.
00:24:44.040 | Don't demand your own way kind of thing.
00:24:46.280 | - Yep.
00:24:47.200 | But a practical thing I think is their organization.
00:24:52.120 | There are a lot of moving pieces to mock trial.
00:24:55.520 | And so teaching your student how to organize their material
00:24:59.280 | I think is huge.
00:25:01.280 | - Yes.
00:25:02.120 | Even if you as a parent don't know
00:25:04.600 | the ins and outs of mock trial,
00:25:06.640 | you are a grownup and you probably have more,
00:25:09.640 | well, you have more ideas than your kid
00:25:12.160 | about good organizational methods.
00:25:14.440 | That's really great.
00:25:16.080 | And that's-
00:25:16.920 | - Figuring out how to do it well is, yeah.
00:25:19.040 | - Yes.
00:25:20.280 | Because that will help your student be able to move
00:25:23.120 | more smoothly through the parts
00:25:25.320 | and always find what they're looking for.
00:25:27.360 | That's really good.
00:25:28.480 | - Exactly.
00:25:29.480 | So whatever method you find works for your students,
00:25:33.320 | some people it's color coding.
00:25:34.520 | Like, okay, every witness has their own color.
00:25:36.880 | Or it's folders or index cards or a binder and it's tabs.
00:25:41.880 | Whatever works, figure out a system.
00:25:44.840 | Because again, they're referencing this material
00:25:47.760 | over and over and over again.
00:25:49.360 | - Yes.
00:25:50.200 | - So it might be, okay, I need to make five copies of this
00:25:53.000 | because every witness needs this particular,
00:25:56.200 | they relate to this particular document.
00:25:58.840 | So I need to have it in every folder.
00:26:02.200 | Or making notes about line numbers.
00:26:04.000 | Those line numbers on the witness statements
00:26:06.840 | are immensely helpful.
00:26:08.680 | - They are, they are.
00:26:10.720 | That's really good.
00:26:12.000 | That's very, very good.
00:26:13.760 | I think sometimes scheduling is another thing.
00:26:19.440 | Helping your students.
00:26:20.920 | I don't know, A and B students tend to think
00:26:25.200 | that things take less time than they really do.
00:26:28.680 | - Yes.
00:26:29.520 | - Especially when they involve other people or cooperation.
00:26:34.120 | 'Cause you can't just assume
00:26:35.760 | that everybody can meet when you can meet.
00:26:38.240 | And so I think that that's one thing
00:26:40.480 | that parents can easily step in and help with
00:26:43.160 | is arranging times and helping their student
00:26:47.480 | with realistic time management.
00:26:50.160 | - Right.
00:26:51.560 | What do you think is the hardest part
00:26:54.120 | of mock trial for parents?
00:26:57.040 | And what is it that would help us
00:27:00.600 | if we could know or remember as parents
00:27:03.720 | what will help us shepherd our students?
00:27:07.320 | - So the biggest thing is to step back and not help.
00:27:10.920 | - That is hard.
00:27:11.760 | - That is so hard.
00:27:12.600 | - That's hard.
00:27:13.440 | That is hard, especially if you get interested yourself.
00:27:15.680 | - Yes, because we see where it should go.
00:27:19.760 | Our brains are more developed.
00:27:21.120 | We have, you know, we're a little older.
00:27:23.240 | We can see the bigger picture.
00:27:24.840 | - We can see these big holes.
00:27:25.680 | We see the big holes in the case
00:27:27.880 | or the thing that could be turned to our advantage, yeah.
00:27:32.280 | - Yes, and so you're biting your tongue
00:27:34.800 | trying not to tell your student,
00:27:36.160 | this is what you need to do.
00:27:37.000 | - Look there, look there.
00:27:38.640 | - So we have to ask the questions.
00:27:40.360 | Okay, so you have that piece of evidence in front of you.
00:27:44.240 | Who might talk about this?
00:27:46.440 | - Right.
00:27:47.280 | - Who brought this up?
00:27:48.400 | And why do you think he mentioned this?
00:27:51.640 | So we have to ask the questions
00:27:53.880 | for them to connect those dots.
00:27:55.440 | And oh, that is so hard.
00:27:57.560 | - It is.
00:27:58.400 | - And also you mentioned it a little while ago.
00:28:00.360 | The students have such a hard time seeing their schedule.
00:28:04.840 | They don't think it's gonna take as long.
00:28:07.520 | So making sure they're working on it every day.
00:28:10.960 | Hey, you know what?
00:28:12.800 | You really need to read these pages again
00:28:15.480 | because the mock trial notebook does not only discuss
00:28:18.280 | the ins and outs of the case,
00:28:20.320 | it tells you about courtroom procedure.
00:28:22.880 | - Oh, that's great.
00:28:24.440 | - So it's those little details
00:28:27.840 | that the students have to read over and over again
00:28:31.320 | to say, oh, look.
00:28:32.840 | So we had a situation when we did mock trial
00:28:35.120 | where the student was supposed to say something,
00:28:38.640 | oh, I rest my case.
00:28:40.520 | And we as a whole just did not read over that page.
00:28:46.800 | We did not attend to that page.
00:28:49.320 | And so the child on the other team
00:28:51.680 | was waiting for our attorney to say that.
00:28:54.160 | The judge was waiting for him to say that.
00:28:56.000 | Nobody knew.
00:28:57.160 | It was a little awkward.
00:28:58.720 | We finally got it.
00:29:01.200 | They finally figured it.
00:29:02.040 | And I, as a director, could not say in the middle of,
00:29:05.760 | hey, you need to say this.
00:29:07.040 | - Say it, say it.
00:29:07.960 | - We were not allowed to talk.
00:29:09.840 | So it was a bit of a moment before he was like,
00:29:13.360 | no, well, we're not done.
00:29:14.280 | We have our cross-examined questions,
00:29:16.000 | but that's not what they were getting at.
00:29:18.480 | - Right.
00:29:19.320 | - Attend to the courtroom rules and regulations
00:29:21.600 | of the mock trial notebook.
00:29:22.440 | Make sure your student reads those pages too,
00:29:24.840 | not just the case pages.
00:29:27.480 | - That's good.
00:29:28.320 | - And also as a parent,
00:29:30.400 | it is so important you volunteer your time,
00:29:33.680 | your home, resources to help these students come together
00:29:38.680 | to work on this project.
00:29:40.680 | If every parent would volunteer one day,
00:29:45.000 | it could happen where they can meet
00:29:48.200 | outside of their normal CC time,
00:29:50.880 | especially if you're teaming up with another community
00:29:53.520 | who might have community day on another day.
00:29:56.240 | - Yeah.
00:29:57.080 | - And that's what we did.
00:29:57.920 | So it was a lot of Fridays that we spent coming together
00:30:02.640 | as two individual communities to come together
00:30:05.680 | to form one team.
00:30:07.480 | And so, you know, gracious,
00:30:10.080 | offer your time to pick up a few students
00:30:12.600 | and meet at a location or offer your home.
00:30:15.520 | Snacks go a long way too.
00:30:17.520 | - Oh my goodness.
00:30:18.360 | - The kids love to eat.
00:30:19.760 | - Absolutely.
00:30:20.600 | At 13, they can eat a lot of snacks in two hours.
00:30:23.520 | - Yeah.
00:30:24.360 | - Yeah.
00:30:25.200 | That's good.
00:30:26.020 | That is really good.
00:30:26.860 | And the whole family can be involved
00:30:28.800 | in that kind of hospitality.
00:30:30.520 | - Yeah.
00:30:31.360 | - You know, there are ways to involve your whole family
00:30:35.400 | in mock trial.
00:30:36.240 | You know, you could be a practice witness.
00:30:39.640 | You could read the script of being the practice witness
00:30:43.080 | and you could help ask questions
00:30:45.320 | or you could get your other students in your home
00:30:50.320 | to try to poke holes in the case
00:30:53.840 | or to have somebody read a statement
00:30:56.640 | and say what's not clear.
00:30:58.760 | 'Cause sometimes as the mock trial participant,
00:31:02.800 | you know what you mean by everything
00:31:06.320 | 'cause all that is in your head.
00:31:08.720 | But people who are hearing the trial,
00:31:11.360 | including the judge who will be at the trial,
00:31:15.120 | haven't rehearsed this and they don't have all the context.
00:31:19.420 | And that's part of what your students
00:31:22.120 | on the mock trial team have to provide.
00:31:24.880 | They have to provide enough context for the story
00:31:28.640 | for it to make sense to somebody who's hearing it
00:31:31.240 | for the first time.
00:31:32.160 | - Right, and that's why those direct examination questions
00:31:34.920 | are so important.
00:31:35.880 | And we had to remind the students,
00:31:38.120 | it's the direct examination questions that tell the story.
00:31:42.240 | - That's how the story gets out there.
00:31:44.560 | - Yes.
00:31:45.720 | - Absolutely.
00:31:46.760 | Why do teams do the trial twice?
00:31:52.160 | What is the value of that?
00:31:54.880 | - Yeah, so it's not a requirement to do it twice
00:31:59.200 | but it is incredibly helpful
00:32:01.700 | because the first, like a dress rehearsal,
00:32:04.580 | there are always hiccups
00:32:05.760 | and like how I wish I could have done this differently.
00:32:08.360 | - Right.
00:32:09.200 | - So you get an opportunity to do it twice
00:32:11.400 | and it helps build their confidence.
00:32:14.440 | - It does and it gets their nervousness out.
00:32:17.760 | - Yes.
00:32:18.600 | - They discover that you don't turn into a toad
00:32:20.720 | and you don't die.
00:32:21.760 | And if you make a stumble,
00:32:23.640 | you just take a deep breath and go on and you get better.
00:32:27.120 | Yeah, I think it's incredibly valuable to Emily
00:32:30.240 | to do it more than once
00:32:31.740 | 'cause you get the nerves out the first time.
00:32:34.500 | - Exactly.
00:32:35.340 | So if you live in an area
00:32:36.380 | where there are multiple challenge B communities,
00:32:39.780 | yeah, I recommend doing it twice
00:32:42.180 | or even a round robin works really well.
00:32:44.380 | So you have three communities, they get a chance.
00:32:47.540 | So I'll go, make their rounds
00:32:49.780 | and everybody gets a chance to do it twice.
00:32:51.900 | So it is really helpful.
00:32:53.460 | And I think the students appreciate that second time around
00:32:57.300 | so they feel better.
00:32:59.420 | - They've worked so hard for so long.
00:33:03.800 | - Yes, to this one objective, yeah.
00:33:07.260 | - And so it's like, yeah, practicing months and months
00:33:10.220 | and only get to do the dance one time.
00:33:12.100 | Well, no, let's do it a couple of times.
00:33:14.100 | - I know, they love it.
00:33:15.180 | And I will just say,
00:33:17.380 | I've had more challenge B students
00:33:19.860 | who come out of challenge B determined to be attorneys
00:33:23.740 | 'cause they ended up loving mock trial
00:33:27.460 | and some who actually kept that love
00:33:30.220 | and went on to be attorneys,
00:33:32.340 | but some who just really valued the skills
00:33:36.860 | that they gained and that they got to practice.
00:33:40.980 | So you have done this for how many years?
00:33:43.460 | How many years have you done challenge B?
00:33:45.500 | - Well, I've only led challenge B one year,
00:33:50.940 | but I've become intimately familiar with challenge B
00:33:54.300 | through my role as an AA.
00:33:55.780 | - And supporting it for several years as well, yeah, yeah.
00:34:00.780 | So between us, we probably have 10 years of experience
00:34:03.940 | with challenge B.
00:34:05.220 | For you, what has been the biggest revelation
00:34:09.300 | as you have helped with mock trial,
00:34:11.980 | as a tutor, as a parent, as an academic advisor,
00:34:16.460 | biggest revelations for you?
00:34:18.620 | - Yeah, our children can do the hard things
00:34:22.420 | and they can do them well.
00:34:24.660 | - Yes, yes, absolutely.
00:34:27.980 | - And I think the beauty of the entire challenge B year
00:34:32.980 | is the theme of our young students can do the hard things.
00:34:39.340 | In the first half of the year,
00:34:41.340 | we read so much literature about these children
00:34:45.940 | working hard to support their families
00:34:49.420 | and to meet their goals.
00:34:51.140 | So we read these books about 13, 14-year-old students
00:34:56.140 | working for years to earn the money to do something
00:35:00.500 | or having to actually support their family.
00:35:02.580 | They're doing things in these stories
00:35:05.060 | and one of them is a true story,
00:35:07.940 | Ralph Moody in "Little Britches."
00:35:10.460 | - Yes.
00:35:11.300 | - Their family was poor and he had to actually earn money
00:35:14.580 | to help their family survive.
00:35:16.540 | And he was doing chores on their farm
00:35:19.220 | that our parents today,
00:35:21.580 | and I speak as a mother of a 13-year-old,
00:35:24.420 | we would never allow my child to do some of these things
00:35:27.900 | that they're being asked to do.
00:35:30.180 | And so I think we forget that in our modern society
00:35:33.940 | that God built these young teenagers to do hard things,
00:35:38.940 | whether it's physically or intellectually,
00:35:42.340 | they are so much more capable than what we think they are.
00:35:48.300 | And so I think that's really important
00:35:50.580 | for us to keep in mind that meeting a hard spot,
00:35:54.580 | meeting a difficult spot in life is a good thing.
00:35:57.420 | It helps with growth.
00:35:59.780 | - Yes, yes, that's great.
00:36:02.980 | That is a great revelation.
00:36:04.420 | And that was definitely one of mine too,
00:36:09.220 | that they could do hard things.
00:36:10.740 | But another revelation that I had was that our children,
00:36:15.660 | through activities like Community Day
00:36:19.700 | and the Mock Trial Project,
00:36:22.660 | our students learn to love their neighbors well.
00:36:26.300 | - Yes.
00:36:27.140 | - And particularly, I actually had both of my daughters
00:36:35.060 | in Challenge B as students also.
00:36:37.740 | So I have years worth of students
00:36:41.020 | that I adopted into my heart
00:36:43.020 | and two students that were born into my heart.
00:36:46.500 | And there are some beautiful pictures
00:36:50.780 | of students learning to love one another,
00:36:53.940 | to bear one another's burdens.
00:36:55.860 | I saw students who would come alongside a classmate
00:37:00.860 | who was utterly wigged out by public speaking
00:37:05.620 | and did not, just really didn't know if they could do it.
00:37:08.660 | And I saw teammates come alongside that person and say,
00:37:13.460 | "This is gonna be okay, you can do this.
00:37:15.780 | Here's what you, here's a trick I've used."
00:37:18.860 | Or, "When you're nervous, you can look at me."
00:37:22.260 | And I saw teammates push papers of notes of encouragement
00:37:27.260 | or next steps to a teammate
00:37:33.820 | when they got flustered during a trial.
00:37:36.540 | I saw them hold each other up
00:37:39.340 | and I saw them hold each other accountable.
00:37:41.420 | I saw them say to one another,
00:37:43.940 | "You know what, you're not doing the work at home.
00:37:48.180 | You're not practicing, you're hurting our team.
00:37:51.220 | You need to step it up."
00:37:52.860 | They learned how to give mercy and grace
00:37:57.860 | and also to hold each other accountable for things.
00:38:03.020 | And that was a huge revelation to me
00:38:06.940 | that those students learn to love one another so well
00:38:11.300 | through this academic experience.
00:38:14.780 | - Yeah, we had, on the day of our mock trial,
00:38:17.340 | one of our students got sick
00:38:19.300 | and she was one of our attorneys.
00:38:22.820 | And so we had one of our other students step up
00:38:26.620 | and had to take over her role literally the last minute.
00:38:29.940 | - Man, yeah.
00:38:31.340 | - But had they not all come together
00:38:33.580 | and work together as a whole group
00:38:37.100 | and had this other student not been prepared
00:38:40.180 | or shared her notes, it would have been done.
00:38:43.940 | - That's right.
00:38:44.780 | - And so at the end, she eventually showed up,
00:38:48.180 | but she was only able to attend it.
00:38:50.180 | She was no longer able to participate by that point.
00:38:53.100 | But the other student went up to her and said,
00:38:55.100 | "Thank you so much because you prepared so much
00:38:58.100 | and we had this all available.
00:39:00.060 | I was able to do it."
00:39:01.220 | So thank you so much.
00:39:03.700 | So yeah, it was just that coming together
00:39:06.540 | and the thanksgiving for one another.
00:39:08.900 | - Yeah.
00:39:09.740 | - And yeah, the encouragement.
00:39:11.220 | We had one student, and this is also a tip for parents.
00:39:16.220 | One of our students was profoundly dyslexic
00:39:19.380 | and just has a really difficult time reading lengthy passages
00:39:23.980 | and the print in the mock trial notebook is kind of small.
00:39:27.660 | - Small.
00:39:28.500 | - And so the mother read through all the witness statements
00:39:33.340 | and he played one of our witnesses.
00:39:34.860 | She read through the witness statement and recorded it
00:39:37.380 | so he could listen to it over and over and over again.
00:39:40.820 | And so the students--
00:39:41.660 | - Great idea.
00:39:42.500 | - Yeah, and I think it was one of the other students
00:39:45.340 | who suggested that to him, saying,
00:39:47.580 | "Hey, have your mom read it so you can listen to it."
00:39:50.420 | Just like, and listen to it over and over.
00:39:52.220 | So I think it was one of the other students encouraged that.
00:39:55.260 | - And so it was, yeah, beautiful
00:39:57.700 | how all these ideas came together
00:39:59.700 | and they do learn all of that.
00:40:02.500 | And it's amazing.
00:40:04.540 | On the day of mock trial, I cried.
00:40:06.860 | It was just so beautiful.
00:40:07.900 | - Yes, yes, yes.
00:40:10.060 | And you just think, wow, this is a beautiful picture
00:40:13.140 | of what comes of hard work.
00:40:14.700 | - Yes.
00:40:15.540 | - And you're so happy for the students.
00:40:17.300 | It's hard work to be so richly rewarded.
00:40:20.220 | - Right.
00:40:21.180 | - That's awesome.
00:40:22.220 | So mock trial is the capstone event.
00:40:27.020 | It's the crown jewel of Challenge B.
00:40:29.980 | How is it the perfect integration of all the skills
00:40:34.980 | that our students practice during that Challenge B year?
00:40:40.460 | - Oh my goodness.
00:40:41.300 | It does encompass everything.
00:40:44.620 | - It does.
00:40:45.460 | - They are learning the parts
00:40:47.620 | of the local judicial system.
00:40:52.140 | And you don't realize it until your child
00:40:55.580 | is moving up into the Challenge years.
00:40:57.900 | What they learn in mock trial directly correlates
00:41:01.940 | to what they will be doing in Challenge 1.
00:41:04.020 | - It does.
00:41:04.860 | - They read "To Kill a Mockingbird,"
00:41:06.780 | which is about an entire court case.
00:41:09.980 | And so, and I asked my students in Challenge 1 this year,
00:41:13.140 | I said, "Had you not done mock trial,
00:41:16.020 | would you have a good understanding?"
00:41:18.540 | - Yeah.
00:41:19.380 | - And they said, "Nope, it really helped."
00:41:20.940 | I'm like, "There you go."
00:41:22.220 | They also read "Born Again" by Charles Olson.
00:41:25.500 | Again, it is about a court case.
00:41:27.660 | And had they not learned the vocabulary
00:41:31.140 | of the parts of a trial,
00:41:33.100 | these books that they read in Challenge 1,
00:41:34.940 | just, they don't make as much sense.
00:41:37.300 | - Right, right.
00:41:38.140 | The context is huge.
00:41:39.820 | - Yeah.
00:41:40.740 | And so they are learning, again,
00:41:43.220 | to name and attend to things
00:41:45.420 | in a way that they probably have never attended
00:41:47.620 | to anything before, memorizing those details.
00:41:51.580 | They have to tell the story of what happened
00:41:54.380 | on the day of this case,
00:41:56.780 | or the day of question of the accident in the mock trial.
00:41:59.300 | - Right, right.
00:42:00.140 | - So they're learning the storytelling and expressing.
00:42:02.700 | They're learning about how events
00:42:06.580 | directly correlate to one another.
00:42:09.060 | And one person's testimony
00:42:10.580 | may not be another person's testimony.
00:42:12.820 | So they're digging for the truth.
00:42:15.180 | And so, yeah, they just, it all comes together
00:42:18.140 | just in one big, cohesive picture
00:42:22.500 | that, yeah, and they don't realize it
00:42:28.020 | until they can look back on it.
00:42:29.340 | - Right, right.
00:42:30.180 | When they look back on it, they're amazed.
00:42:32.540 | - Yeah.
00:42:33.380 | And they're learning the persuasive arguments,
00:42:35.020 | which again, come back in Challenge 1,
00:42:37.980 | they are learning how to put together
00:42:39.900 | a good, solid argument.
00:42:42.140 | And some of the things that they learned in Challenge A,
00:42:44.980 | like the appeal to fear,
00:42:46.580 | the appeal to pity.
00:42:49.060 | - Yeah.
00:42:49.980 | - They learn, they're putting these things together
00:42:52.540 | that they may not realize that they are doing
00:42:55.900 | until you point them out.
00:42:58.260 | Like, wow, remember when you were learning in Challenge A
00:43:00.980 | about these fallacies,
00:43:02.460 | and now let's twist those and put them to your advantage
00:43:05.300 | while you're putting together an argument.
00:43:07.740 | - Yes.
00:43:08.940 | Well, that's what makes it the capstone event
00:43:11.620 | because it really does.
00:43:13.220 | It is a great synthesis of the skills
00:43:17.180 | that our students have been massaging up to that time.
00:43:21.540 | Thank you for helping us to see that, Emily.
00:43:23.460 | And thank you for answering so many questions
00:43:26.820 | that parents all over have about mock trial.
00:43:30.340 | This has been really helpful and informative.
00:43:32.740 | I appreciate you.
00:43:33.620 | - Oh, I love it.
00:43:34.900 | I mean, and I have said this to so many people,
00:43:38.580 | they're probably tired of hearing me say it,
00:43:41.020 | but the amount of growth I think you see in a student
00:43:44.820 | during the Challenge B year, it makes me cry.
00:43:49.020 | They learn so much work ethic during this year
00:43:53.740 | because they think so much of it goes back to
00:43:57.820 | our children can do the hard things.
00:43:59.660 | And hey, look at what these kids my age
00:44:02.060 | were doing 100 years ago.
00:44:04.980 | - Yeah.
00:44:05.820 | - I noticed a difference in my oldest when he went through.
00:44:10.100 | I would say, "Hey, can you take out the trash?"
00:44:12.100 | And a typical 12, 13 year old boy might complain about it.
00:44:16.660 | By mid year, I would say,
00:44:18.740 | "Hey, can you please take out the trash?"
00:44:20.460 | "Yep, no problem."
00:44:22.540 | Because I think they are learning that,
00:44:25.580 | hey, you know what, people really were working hard,
00:44:28.740 | much harder than what I'm having to learn this year.
00:44:32.100 | The amount of maturity that goes into,
00:44:35.580 | they just grow up so much in that Challenge B year.
00:44:38.980 | And it is really great to see.
00:44:41.340 | - It is a beautiful picture of what God does in our lives
00:44:45.260 | as he helps us to become who he wants us to be.
00:44:48.980 | This has been really great.
00:44:50.620 | And parents, we have talked a lot.
00:44:52.180 | You've heard Emily talk a lot about the 15 skills
00:44:56.620 | and the skill of attending and the skill of memorizing
00:44:59.900 | and expression and invention and all of those skills.
00:45:03.980 | If you are looking to become a better everyday educator,
00:45:08.980 | familiar with all those tools,
00:45:11.980 | join other homeschool parents this summer
00:45:15.540 | for a 2025 Practicum event.
00:45:18.780 | It's hosted by a local CC leader every summer.
00:45:22.860 | And this parent conference will give you an opportunity
00:45:27.300 | for fellowship with brand new
00:45:30.780 | and experienced homeschool parents,
00:45:32.860 | or even just parents who are thinking about homeschooling.
00:45:36.460 | You'll have the chance to gather and learn
00:45:38.940 | and practice the classical arts.
00:45:42.300 | At this year's Practicum,
00:45:43.860 | you can practice the 15 skills of learning,
00:45:47.060 | many of which Emily talked about.
00:45:49.180 | This year, we're gonna begin using content
00:45:52.540 | from the brand new curriculum, the Math Map.
00:45:55.180 | And so you will get two good things,
00:45:58.140 | practice with the 15 skills
00:46:00.500 | and perhaps an introduction or a deeper dive
00:46:05.300 | into the Math Map curriculum,
00:46:07.780 | the brand new math, classical math curriculum,
00:46:10.820 | the classical conversations is rolling out.
00:46:13.780 | You're gonna be surprised at how approachable
00:46:16.700 | that curriculum is.
00:46:19.220 | And you're gonna be able to discuss it
00:46:21.700 | with people at all stages of learning.
00:46:24.260 | So find out when your local Practicum meets
00:46:27.980 | and you can do that by visiting ccpracticum.com.
00:46:32.980 | That's ccpracticum.com.
00:46:37.020 | Hopefully, we will see you all
00:46:39.380 | at a local Practicum this summer.
00:46:42.060 | But even better than that,
00:46:43.580 | I hope to see you all or listen to you all
00:46:47.220 | next week on The Everyday Educator.
00:46:49.740 | Thanks, Emily, I appreciate you being with us
00:46:52.220 | and I'll talk to you again.
00:46:53.980 | - Well, thank you for having me.
00:46:55.540 | (upbeat music)
00:46:58.140 | you
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