The Trial

Johnny was found guilty of unintentional homicide. Many took the stand in his defense, but it wasn’t enough. Going inside a burning church and sacrificing his life for those he brought to safety could not get him out of the consequences for killing Bob.

I love my 8^th grade class! As part of the end-of-book assessment for The Outsiders, each student portrayed a character (or lawyer) from the book and participated in a mock trial. The judge (our principal) kept them all on track during the hearing. They came in to school today dressed for court – nice shirts and ties, skirts, and smiles on their faces. They were ready for what the day would bring.

After practicing with them a bit on Friday, I was a bit nervous about what the ‘real thing’ would bring. Several students did not know their character well enough to give even the basic details of the story. They had a hard time settling down and listening to what was being said. Upon entering the courtroom today (Media Center), that all changed.

As each one of them were called to the stand, they took their oath to “Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you S.E. Hinton.” A pin drop could have been heard. Several times they were even asked to speak up. They were nervous and scared. They were amazing.

Needless to say, some knew their parts better than others. I believe some of the teachers that came in to serve on the jury were surprised by the performances of some.  Some shining stars emerged. The boy who played Johnny was amazing. He knew the story better than anyone else. He brought sincerity to the part. It was difficult to know he was heading to jail.

I love seeing these kids come alive when doing something out of the ordinary. They brought the characters in the book to life. They participated. Now to figure out how to get them to transfer all that knowledge to the EOG.