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I n s t i t u t e f o r H u m a n e E d u c a t i o n w w w . H
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Earth Court
Procedure:
1. Choose an Issue:Assist
students in deciding who orwhat will be put on trial in
Earth
Court (see below). These topics
will be based on current events,
particular areas of study in the
school curriculum, an issue or
object of curiosity, current
human conflict or
scientific/medical discovery, etc.
2. Introduce the concepts:Provide students with a brief review
of
judicial processes specific to their country, using appropriate
materials.
3.Assign Roles:Assist students in establishing positions in the
trial,
which may or may not follow traditional victim/perpetrator
roles. For
example, proponents of the Endangered Species Act might be prone
to
put the fossil fuel industry on trial for its threat to the
Polar Bears, whereas
supporters of the oil/gas/coal industries would establish the
Endangered
Species Act or the Polar Bear as the defendant.
Note:Trial roles may be written down and randomly chosen by
participants in the trial or participants may openly select the
roles they
wish to play.
Students choosing roles as members of the prosecution,
defense,
attorneys, witnesses, experts, etc.,will independently research
the
composition, history, inherent purpose, relationship within the
community
on trial, and social, environmental, health, ethical, etc.,
impact of
its/his/her own existence such that he/she/it can pose and
answer
questions factually and honestly during the trial.
Students choosing roles as members of the jurywill represent
a
diverse community of individuals, reflecting differences in
race, species,skill/trade, religious and political affiliation,
age, profession, gender,
educational and economic background, etc., and will accordingly
research
their chosen individuals identity -- particularly that
individuals interest
in/knowledge regarding the issue(s) and entities on trial.
During the trial, each jury member will assume the role
chosen/assigned
and judge the proceedings as if they were that individual.
Purpose:The biggest issues andchallenges of our time go ontrial
as students serve asprosecution, defense, and jury,and then develop
a solutions-based sentencing.
Grades:9 and up
Time:Varies
Materials: access to research
materials and a library; Internet access
Subject Areas:Health, Language Arts, Scienceand Social
Studies/History
National Standards:Forthcoming
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One student will serve as the media representative, covering the
trial
proceedings. S/he may choose to publish reports in a school
bulletin,
central message board, electronic report, documentary/film
recording,
etc., reporting to the school community as a representative of
the public
at large.
The teacher will act as the Earth Court judge, with the purpose
offacilitating research methods, the trial proceedings, and
allowing the jury
to decide the verdict.
Once all participants are comfortable with their level of
knowledge about
their chosen roles, the trial may begin. The media
representative will
document the trial proceedings.
4. Hold the trial:After closing arguments, the jury will retreat
to decide
their verdict and also to research alternative sentencing
possibilities that
are solution-based and that represent the interests of all
parties involved
in the conflict -- a mediation of sorts.
The final sentencing should provide the opportunity for the
class to
develop a real life course of action that will enable them --
collectively or
individually -- to positively impact the Earth conflict in
question.
5. Provide examples of solution-based approaches in which
your
students might engage:Using the Polar Bear as an example: The
class
might decide to begin a letter writing campaign to legislators
in support of
protecting endangered species and to suggest alternative
industry and
employment opportunities for fossil fuel industry proponents; to
create
renewable energy-run products that could be sold to raise funds
for theprotection of Polar Bear habitat; or to design conservation,
and
sustainable energy systems for their school and district, etc.
The media
representative may choose to report on this concluding effort,
as well to
inform and educate the broader community.
Suggested Issues to Put on Trial:
Following are lists of trial suggestions, which, as previously
mentioned,
may be tried in non-traditional roles as victim or perpetrator.
Also, some
issues or aspects of issues fit equally well on either side of
the debate.Participants should be open to seeing the arguments from
different
perspectives:
Defense:Tobacco; Asbestos; DDT; Chlorofluorocarbons;
Chocolate;
Automobiles; Hamburgers; Emerald Ash Borer; Non-Indigenous
Species;
Genocide; Monocultures; Water, Soil, or Air Pollution; Alar;
Avian
Influenza or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Human
Ignorance,
Apathy, or Indifference; Animal Research; Factory Farming;
HumanActivity by:Heather Schooler
IHE M.Ed. graduate
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Overpopulation; Malaria; Tuberculosis; rBGH; False and/or
Deceptive Information; Economy; Media;
Marketing; Food Disparagement Act; Legislation;
Consumerism/Over-Consumption; Specialization;
Globalization; Pesticides, Herbicides, Insecticides, and/or
Chemical Fertilizers; Genetically Modified
Organisms; Intimidation.
Prosecution: Indigenous Species; Unemployment; Child Soldiers;
Migrant Farm Workers; Fossil Fuels;
Organic Farming Methods; Underground Aquifers; Immune
Compromised Humans, the Aged, Children;Poverty; Hunger;
Deforestation; Job Creation/Job Training; Global Warming; Truth;
Soil
Depletion/Preservation; Education and Awareness; Economy;
Cultural Preservation; Endangered Species;
Animal Welfare; Food Supply and Distribution; Human Health;
Legislation; Alternative Energy Sources; Family
Planning; Vegetarianism/Veganism.
Alternative: Early human tribal systems of community and
cooperative social behavior lacked a need for a
judicial system. Have students research these early practices of
communal living and compare their efficacy
to their countrys judicial processes, corporate power and
influence within the government, etc. How would
the class resolve a modern conflict using these human tribal
systems?
