Educators’ experiences are adapted into classroom plans for their students
A Pine View School social studies teacher is one of 25 educators selected to participate in the 2016 Florida Supreme Court Justice Teaching Institute, the Sarasota County School District has announced.
Carol Lavallee will travel to the offices and courtrooms of the state Supreme Court in Tallahassee for the Institute, which will be held Sunday, Feb. 7, through Thursday, Feb. 11, a news release says.
The Florida Law Related Education Association has implemented the Justice Teaching Institute since the inaugural program was developed in 1996, under the leadership of then-Florida Chief Justice Gerald Kogan, the release explains. “The Institute offers an up-close examination of the workings of the judicial branch of government,” the release adds. “The program incorporates a case study approach, including lectures, interactive presentations, observations, mock hearings and a culminating oral argument simulation.”
“I’m excited to see first-hand how our justice system works through this experience,” said Lavallee in the release. “I’m looking forward to sharing this knowledge with my students.”
Through meetings with Supreme Court justices and other judges, interactive activities, simulations and group discussions, teachers explore the concept of justice, debate topical legal issues and develop techniques and strategies for teaching students and other educators about the nature, history, organization and processes of the Florida justice system, the release continues. “Participants conduct simulated appellate proceedings and observe the presentation of an actual case,” the release notes.
Two mentor teachers and two mentor judges will guide the participating teachers through the experience, the release adds. Staff from the Florida Law Related Education Association will help teachers incorporate the experiences into educational plans for their classrooms, the release says.
The Association pays teachers’ expenses, including the cost of substitute teachers at their schools, the release points out.