State Supreme Court puts on a show for educators

By: Tom MacDonald

Philadelphia-area schoolteachers got a unique learning experience today in one of Philadelphia City Hall’s hidden gems. WHYY’s Tom MacDonald reports from a session at the State Supreme Court’s Philadelphia Home.

By: Tom MacDonald
tmacdonald@whyy.org

Philadelphia-area schoolteachers got a unique learning experience today in one of Philadelphia City Hall’s hidden gems. WHYY’s Tom MacDonald reports from a session at the State Supreme Court’s Philadelphia Home.

Transcript:
“Oh wow!” said Dobbins High School Social studies teacher Gene Woehr when he entered the State Supreme Courtroom in Philadelphia, which is preserved in its early 18th century grandeur. Woehr is part of a conference on the judiciary, featuring interactive activities with the teachers pleading their mock cases before real judges. State Supreme Court Justice Ron Castille who was at the event says the goal is to educate those who can teach the children about the court system.

Castille: “This type of thing you can take and transfer back into the classroom and it will be something the students will always remember we can impress on them how the [state] constitution works and how it can work for them too.”

With over a million cases before the courts in the state last year, and twelve million residents, Castille says almost everyone will face a judge at some point in their lives. He says that makes a basic understanding of the courts essential.

Listen:
Click on the play button below or right click on this link and choose “Save Link As” to download. [audio: reports20090306court.mp3]