Penny K. Zhitomi
In this legal issue, my students will thoroughly examine the case of
Wisconsin v. Yoder
which dealt with the compulsory attendance policy that was being questioned by an Amish community in Wisconsin. There was no doubt that the Amish parents wanted what was best for their children-according to their religious beliefs. This happened to contradict, however, with the required attendance policies established by the state for all children under the age of sixteen. The Amish adults in their community allowed the children to attend public school until the eighth grade, which is only about age thirteen or fourteen. They then wanted the children to attend vocational school in the Amish community. This, of course, was to train them for their future as Amish members for life. As I read this case, I was struck by several things. While I can respect their right to religious freedom under the first amendment, I am curious as to what the children’s feelings would actually be if they were given a choice. If they knew that the decision was solely theirs to make, would they feel more independent and choose to remain in the public schools?
Again, we come to the issue of individual age maturity? Are some children mature enough to make these decisions for themselves or are they still too young and must rely on their parents to make these choices for them? What if the child didn’t want to grow up to remain in the Amish community? An education provided by the public schools would give them more freedom and choices in the “outside” world from the Amish.
As you have seen while reading this unit, a central focus in each legal issue for me has been the perplexing debate of a child’s biological age versus his/her competence or maturity level. The question that seems most crucial is whether age should count in these legal decisions. To be perfectly honest, I have done a great deal of reading on this topic and I am still quite confused. I will simply say that it appears that each individual case must remain exactly that, individual! No two children are alike and therefore, legislatures, lawyers, judges, and those professionals dealing directly with children must remain open-minded and objective with each new case before them.
As I mentioned earlier in the introduction, the way I see this unit developing is that we will study the legislative processes of our government and after visiting the state capitol and our local representatives, establish “mock legislative debates” on the first three issues already discussed. For the final issue of compulsory education, however, I would like to explore the judicial system with my students from the viewpoint of a “mock trial” of the case
Wisconsin v. Yoder
.
In the planning of this mock trial, I have utilized as many legal connections as possible. A fellow teacher’s husband has agreed to come into the classroom on several occasions and give small lectures about the law and assist us in setting up our mock trial. I will also try to arrange for a field trip to the local courthouse before we begin our “trial”. I also have a friend in law school who has volunteered to come in a few times to coach students about their roles and legal responsibilities in this case. Students will take on roles that encompass all facets of the judicial process including those of: attorneys, judge, jurors, witnesses, defendants, courtroom observers, bailiff, courtroom reporter, journalists, etc. Since this is a rather “extensive” project, I plan on spending about three weeks preparing my students for the “trial” which will take place in the last few days of the entire Family Law unit. I expect to have a rehearsal for the trial and work out any problems then. My plan is to perform this “mock trial” in front of other classes so that they may see all of the hard work and research that went into the trial. Parents and relatives of my students will also be invited to the “courthouse” to observe the trial.
As I mentioned before, I will not reveal the actual decision of
Wisconsin v. Yoder
until after the trial. I feel that this will encourage children to think more freely without any already established beliefs or opinions. The timeframe for this unit will be approximately six weeks in the late winter (February- April). If anyone is interested in setting up a mode trial of their own, please feel free to contact me then for my lesson plans and advice since I will have had the experience of just producing one.
