Students of Anastasia Thull's 10th grade English class got a taste of courtroom drama in October when they held a mock trial to determine a defendant's guilt or innocence.
The defendant was Sasha Uskov, the main character in Anton Chekov's short story, “A Problem”, which the students read and evaluated in Ms. Thull's class. Sasha forges a promissory note, cashes it for money from an uncle's account and intends to pay it back. When the note comes due, Sasha has no means of paying it, so his misdeed becomes a family secret.
Due to his “troubled childhood” and the family's code of honor, his uncles confront him and it becomes a moral issue with some relatives feeling he should be punished while others want to keep it hushed.
Mounting the Sirent High School Auditorium stage, the students played the role of Sasha (Devin Rand/Tuff Heitz) and other family members and had to decide his fate while other students looked on and formulated their own judgment. Over two class periods, prosecuting attorneys (Cassandra Maslow/Bernice Taylor) and defense attorneys (Paetyn McKnight/Lukas Hunter) interrogated and cross examined witnesses (business owner – Hannah Mangelson, police officer – Silas Vasatka, and relatives – Jacob Rust, Logan Harwick, Cody Gerhardson, Maddy Hall, Olivia Hall, and Alayna Johnson). The judge (Brennan Koball/Tyler Miller) did an admirable job weighing the evidence, calling objections or sustainment and overruling any “non-admissable” proceedings. The jury members observed their classmates and were more than eager to point out inconsistencies in the testimony and arguments. Students unanimously determined Sasha was guilty of his crime and should be imprisoned, especially since he robbed the uncle who promised to provide a stable home as they left the house.
Overall, Siren's scholars used facts to reasonably sentence Sasha to life imprisonment for crimes committed because he had not learned the simple lesson of humility.
(Images via Siren School District)
Last Update: Nov 09, 2016 1:48 pm CST
