On the morning of Monday, April 29, 2024, classically homeschooled students from Cumberland, Putnam, Roane, Warren, and Monroe counties will converge at the Cumberland County Justice Center. No, they aren’t on trial for truancy or unruly behavior; many will be serving as attorneys and witnesses.

Eighteen 13- and 14-year-old students will put their logic and presentation skills to the test as they litigate a 3rd-degree murder case involving the deaths of two people when a crane collapsed on a construction site.

Local attorney, Matthew McClanahan, will preside as judge, and adults of varied backgrounds will act as the jury.

Classical Conversations Challenge B classes throughout the state and across the country will be participating in mock trials during April and May. This student-led, prepared, and rehearsed courtroom trial teaches students about the legal system in a competitive manner. Classical Conversations (CC), the world’s largest classical homeschool organization, uses mock trial competitions to teach research, grammar, writing, rhetoric, public speaking, debate, and drama skills.

These eighth-grade students have spent the entire spring semester experiencing all three stages of the classical model of education: grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. They spent weeks learning the facts of the case and many more weeks wrestling with what they learned, determining what facts were missing, finding logical errors, and building cases both for and against the defendant.

“To see these students wrestle with ambiguous information, formulate opening and closing statements, questions for direct and cross-examination, and become the witnesses in this case is rewarding,” said Cyndra Kerley, Challenge B Director of the Cookeville Central CC Community, “This capstone project provides insight into the legal system in addition to helping the students understand civic responsibility.”

The community is welcome to witness the fruits of their efforts in Courtroom 4 in the Cumberland County Justice Center in Crossville on April 29 at 9 a.m. While this is a mock trial, courtroom protocol is to be respected.

Contact Cyndra Kerley, [email protected], for more information about the event, Classical Conversations, or homeschooling in general.