Students Jacqulin Stauder, Mayura Balakrishnan, Tulin Babbitt, Avantika Jetli, Samuel Watson, Chelsea Robinson and Nylise Jones participate in a mock trial with Attorney Thomas Schwartz acting as judge.

Mock trial at Tappan Middle School.

Many of the students who Tappan Middle School language arts teacher Wendy Raymond instructs have gone to jail, although not for very long. 

A trip to visit a jail cell and courthouse is just one part of the unique law-related curriculum Raymond - who will be recognized with a Law Related Education Middle School Teacher of the Year Award from the American Lawyers Auxiliary later this summer - provides to her students.

Wendy Raymond

“I really liked learning about how a trial works and it was really cool to think about the different ways of looking at cases,” said Maya Burris, a sixth-grader who now wants to be a lawyer thanks to Raymond.

“I think the main reason they enjoy it is because they can see it in the real world. I have kids who kind of coast through class but then get really excited once we come to our law unit and write pages and pages," Raymond said. "It gives kids information on how they can use English in the real world and why they have to know how to speak, read, write and listen."

The Teacher of the Year award is given to teachers "who have made significant contributions in the area of law-related education" and who have developed programs that further understanding of the court system and students' rights and duties, according to the American Lawyers Auxiliary website. Winners are chosen at the elementary, middle and high school grade levels. The winners, including Raymond, will get a $1,500 award at the group's annual meeting to be held Aug. 6 in San Francisco.

The lawyers group is a nonprofit network of lawyers' spouses affiliated with the American Bar Association that aims to promote understanding and appreciation of American laws and the court system. 

When Raymond began developing the law program at Tappan, she originally just had a lawyer come in for a day and talk about the law. But students enjoyed it so much that the program expanded and now involves visiting the University of Michigan Law School, visiting a real courthouse and seeing a real trial and getting to experience a jail cell.

They also perform a large mock trial based on books the class has read towards the end that generally takes about two class days and brings in real legal professionals to assist with the process.

Her curriculum also involves lawyer and Assistant Dean at University of Michigan Law School David Baum, a former Tappan parent, talking to the students about the law and giving them an opportunity to ask questions. 

“At the end, I tell them honestly that they have managed to complete a project that would be challenging even for law students," Baum said. "Wendy has designed the trial masterfully, so that it naturally motivates her students to employ to the fullest extent possible their marvelous young intellects and vivid imaginations. I can think of no better way to educate than this."

This was the first year that Tappan offered a law club for students. The group met after school and explored different laws that young people can relate to, including custody, name-changing, shoplifting and underage drinking laws.

The Teacher of the Year honor isn't Raymond’s first award. She also received a crystal apple from the Michigan Lawyers Auxiliary in 2000 for law-related education. Many of her students have won a Law Day essay contest that she encourages them to enter each year.

Even though her students win awards, there are many other rewards to her teaching. Many of her students say they find the curriculum inspiring and Raymond said that on her most recent visit to the law school, she learned that a student who went through her program is now a first-year-student at the University of Michigan Law School.

“I loved how Ms. Raymond taught about it with such enthusiasm and how it was fun to make a decision about something grown-ups usually decide on,’’ said sixth-grader Julia Hines.

“I thought that at first it was going to be way too legal and not too interesting, but I liked learning about how law impacted the community and what it really meant. Going to see an actual trial was pretty interesting because it was a lot more serious than ours,” said sixth-grader Dani Smotrich-Barr.

Jenny Serwach is a student studying journalism and political science at the University of Michigan-Flint and is a summer intern at AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at jennyserwach@gmail.com.