I met with the kids again today. It’s really energizing — they’re doing a good job putting their case together. These are bright kids and they’re starting to really get it. I had them do a round of table topics — some of the same ones I did with Toastmasters a couple months ago — and they all did fine. They actually all had a lot of fun with it, especially when they figured out that they could tell the most outrageous stories they could think of in response to the questions. When I told them all that they had just used the same skills they’d need to think on their feet during trial, they all beamed.
There’s a pre-trial argument as part of the exercise; today I heard one of the two students who is putting together that part of the case make her presentation. She’s a sophomore, and I think she’s from the Caribbean. Her accent is delicious. So far, she hasn’t progressed beyond reading prepared remarks from paper, but she’s motivated to do better and I’m quite confident she’ll be able to handle the vagaries of an inquisitive judge in three weeks.
I think, though, a little bit more preparation is needed. While it’s coming together well, the absenteeism is a source of irritation for me. We haven’t had a full meeting of the entire team since I started showing up to coach them. I’m thinking maybe next Saturday I should have them over to the office so that they can do a full run-through with no time limits.
