This article was written by Sloane Kapit, class of 2019.
Entrance into a courtroom may frighten a fourth grader. However, Thursday, Sept. 20 during 8th and 9th hour, with the help of homeroom teacher Mrs. Beatriz Ruiz, four fourth-grade classes had the opportunity to get a taste of the courtroom with the help of the Pre-Law society in Mrs. Mindy Kapit’s criminal law classes.
“I wanted to bring our Government unit of study to life for the fourth graders. It is not often that they are able to see and go inside of a courtroom, so I wanted them to be able to have that experience,” Mrs. Ruiz said.
Mrs. Ruiz also pointed out the fact that in fourth grade, her daughter, current sophomore Alexa Ruiz, had the opportunity to visit the courtroom and ended up pursuing the Pre-Law track. “I knew I wanted to be in the Pre-Law track since my fourth-grade class did a tour of the courtroom with Mrs. Seese,” Alexa Ruiz said. “To see a bunch of kids doing what I did with the same enthusiasm really showed me that this is something I want to do for the rest of high school and my life.”
Upon entering the courtroom, the fourth graders took a seat and participated in a presentation in which Mrs. Kapit’s students educated them using their knowledge of the law. The room boomed as questions bounced back and forth between teachers and students.
“I think this exercise was beneficial to both [ages of] students because the [upper school students] were able to share the knowledge that they have gained with the lower school students who truly look up to them,” Mrs. Ruiz said. “Many expressed how they would like to take a law class because it seemed like a lot of fun, and the material was very interesting.”
