Goldilocks: Hardened criminal or innocent little girl who accidentally walked into the wrong home?
That’s the question parents had to decide at two mock trials held by fourth- and fifth-grade students who participate in Ballston Spa Central School District’s Ballston Scholars program.
To prepare, teacher Bairbre McCarthy provided students with an old version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” to read. They were told to think of the story as evidence. The story couldn’t be changed to prove their case, but it could be added to.
Students were then split into two teams, the defense and the prosecution. The students spent weeks establishing a story, thinking up witnesses and evidence and trying to find any ways the opposite side could poke holes in their narrative.
“I think studying the judicial system is really important for this age group,” said McCarthy. “It’s an important aspect of the curriculum later on in the year and this exercise takes the process a step further for them.”
McCarthy has been teaching the mock trials in her classes since 2006, but this is her first year working at the Ballston Spa Central School District. She previously taught the Young Scholars program at the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES. She was hired over the summer to expand the program within the district’s two elementary schools.
Those involved in the program have reasoning skills measuring in the top 1 or 2 percent of students in their age group nationwide and are tested using the School and College Ability Test by John Hopkins University. The students performing the trial of Goldilocks met one day each week and are in the literature and social studies track. Others are taught classes by McCarthy on the math, science and technology track.
“This is a great unit for working collaboratively,” said McCarthy. “It helps teach them persuasion and public speaking skills.”
Another fairy tale trial will be performed in March. The lessons prepare the students for a larger trial recreation at the end of the year. As part of the curriculum, the students will learn about the Boston Massacre. In June, they will recreate the trial for a more hands-on experience with the lesson.
“I start with fairy tales because the stories are easily recognized by the children,” said McCarthy. “It brings the theories of the judicial system to their level.”
On Friday, Dec. 16, the Ballston Scholars of Malta Avenue Elementary held their trial with visiting parents acting as jurors. Goldie was being charged with vandalism, larceny and criminal trespassing, and the parents needed to decide if she was guilty or innocent.
To mimic a real trial, witnesses were asked to put their hand on the “bauble” before testifying and “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Bob.”
The defense claimed the whole ordeal was a misunderstanding.
According to Goldie’s sister Silvia, on July 7, 1877, Goldie and her sister were on the way to give an anniversary present to friends of their parents when they came to a fork in the road. Weighed down by the present she was carrying, Silvia claimed to have told Goldie to walk ahead of her when Goldie took the wrong fork in the road.
“I’m still not good with my lefts and rights,” responded Goldie, played by Hannah Thompson.
Goldie claimed she didn’t think it was weird no one was home because her mother had said the Steels might be busy preparing for their anniversary. She also didn’t think anything of the porridge left on the table or the three beds upstairs, explaining how she thought the food had been left out for her and her sister and the extra bed was made in case they stayed the night.”
“Mother always told us how nice they were,” she said. So she ate the porridge.
The defense acknowledged a chair was broken, but by accident when she sat down after eating. After eating she grew tired waiting for her sister, so she took a nap in one of the beds. Her story was corroborated by her sister, Peyton the tree and Yasmin the unicorn.
The bears had a different story, claiming Goldie walked into the house without permission, ate their food, broke a chair and was found when the bears returned sleeping in one of their beds.
Within the story used as evidence, the bear’s door is not locked. However, Goldie does lift the latch to enter the home. Bob the flying Seahorse testified to passing by the house and seeing Goldie lift the latch to enter. He also saw her eat the porridge through a window.
“I have very good eyesight, I just had my eyes tested last week,” said Bob, played by Gavin Butler, in response to a question from the defense.
Eventually the parents were asked for a verdict.
The discussion became heated over whether Goldie could be charged with larceny if she didn’t intentionally know she was stealing.
One parent questioned why Goldie would enter a house without knocking even if she did know the people who owned the home.
“Maybe things like that were different in the 1800s,” said another.
Unable to come up with a unanimous decision, the parents took a vote. They decided to acquit Goldie of the vandalism and larceny charges since she may not have been aware she was doing something wrong. They did convict her of trespassing, but on a lesser misdemeanor charge.
“I think the parents found Goldie not guilty because [Thompson] was such a good actress,” said McCarthy. “In real life it would be a different story, although she is a minor so she probably wouldn’t be placed in jail.”
The parents liked the idea of their children learning about the judicial system at such a young age.
“Maybe it will make them think twice before doing something they’re not supposed to,” said Gavin’s father, Larry Butler. “It shows to them the intricacies of having to prove their guilt or innocence.”
