The Benefits of Enrolling Your Child to a Mock Trial / Debate Course at Cogito

By: Coach Yong

Fall is the perfect time for children to explore new interests, develop skills, and make lasting memories. One excellent option for fall semester enrichment is enrolling your child in a mock trial or debate course at Cogito Speech & Debate. These classes offer a unique and enriching experience that goes beyond traditional semester activities.

In this article, we will explore the myriad benefits of sending your child to a fall mock trial/debate course, enriching the discussion with insights from various articles and research studies.

So, what is mock trial like and how should we best get started? Well first of all, it’s a lot like school and academics because you’re going to be learning, but like any great activity, this is learning while you’re having fun and learning while you’re immersed essentially in the back and forth of mock trial and the practicing of mock trial. Secondly, it’s a lot like a club or an extracurricular, it can be a course at law schools, but for the most part it will be an activity that one does outside of courses, and something done with a team where you’re either after school or meeting at different times outside of the confines of the school day. It’s a lot like athletics because it draws athletes and has all the great benefits of athletics. You’re working with a team because one cannot do mock trial alone. Furthermore, our students are working with coaches – hopefully an attorney and an adult who is able to show you how real trials work. Essentially, you’re working in a long-term shared goal with that team and with those coaches in terms of competition (there are winners and losers) and there’s a day that one shows up for where you compete alongside the fantastic adrenaline rush, improvements, and progressions that go along with competition.

In addition, it’s a lot like schools that have to do with the arts: music, playing an instrument, choir, drama. The arts have that aspect because it’s about presenting, it’s about assuming characters, that same shared goal that you run up to. It has a day, a competition just like a game in athletics you have a competition, just like a recital or concert with performance – there’s a day you show up for where you compete, and it has great benefits for everyone. Last is unique to mock trial, because you’re emulating a professional, you’re emulating someone who’s in a profession, specifically in the legal profession. You will do as real trial lawyers do just in a classroom setting and competition setting. You will learn how to give a jury address and ask questions of witnesses and object and learn all about trial. Mock trial definitely has great value.

Lastly comes professional presentation, which is really that’s what life is about
When you’re a professional, you can be in a boardroom, you can be in a courtroom, you could be just in a meeting at the company. You’re always presenting as a professional, not to mention as students as well with myriad presentations to give throughout HS and college. So why not be as persuasive as possible, why not be as organized as possible, why not be as efficient and succinct as possible in your professional presentations. Mock trial helps with that. If you think about everything we do in mock trial, whether it’s speaking directly to the jury in an opening statement or closing argument, whether its speaking to the court and voicing our side of a motion or objection to the court or whether its questioning a witness – those are all presentations, they’re different forms of presentations and it helps you get better at that.

Here are several reasons why debate has been added to our mock trial curriculum as an invaluable exercise for our students as they gear up for Mock Trial Tournaments:

1. Critical Thinking: Engaging in debate fosters critical thinking skills by requiring students to analyze complex issues, evaluate arguments, and construct logical responses under pressure. This skill is directly transferable to the courtroom setting, where quick thinking and sound reasoning are essential.
2. Persuasive Communication: Debating hones students’ ability to articulate their thoughts persuasively and effectively. In a mock trial scenario, the ability to present a compelling case and persuade judges is paramount. Through debate practice, students refine their communication techniques, including organization, clarity, and rhetorical strategies.
3. Profession Presentation: Presentations are key to success as a professional, one can be in a boardroom, courtroom, or just in a meeting at the company; in fact, even as students there will be myriad presentations to give throughout Middle/High School and College. So why not be as persuasive as possible, why not be as organized as possible, why not be as efficient and succinct as possible in your professional presentations? Debate and mock trial directly helps in building those skills. If you think about everything we do in mock trial, whether it’s speaking directly to the jury in an opening statement or closing argument, whether its speaking to the court and voicing our side of a motion or objection to the court, or whether its questioning a witness – those are all different forms of presentations that we will be working on developing through our multifaceted pedagogical approach.

4. Adaptability: One of the greatest challenges in any competitive setting is adapting to unexpected circumstances. In debate, students must be prepared to respond to counterarguments, think on their feet, and adjust their approach in real-time. This adaptability translates directly to the dynamic nature of mock trial proceedings, where unforeseen challenges often arise during courtroom simulations. Some of the most fun students can have in a mock trial is objecting and trying to trip up your opponent; in addition, if you are the one presenting (the proponent of evidence) and someone objects, the ability to handle that objection and get back seamlessly to what you were doing with the witness examination is a foundational skill in debate. The parliamentary debate exercise we did as a class on Thursday utilizes those impromptu speaking skills, and specifically builds adaptability during the presentation itself through the speech interruptions called Points of Information (POIs) that are built into the debate format.

   Confidence Building: Participation in debate empowers students to express their opinions with confidence and conviction. As they engage in structured argumentation and rebuttal, students develop a sense of self-assurance that is invaluable in the high-pressure environment of a mock trial competition.

   Collaborative Skills: Debating encourages teamwork and collaboration as students work together to formulate arguments, anticipate opposing viewpoints, and refine their strategies. These collaborative skills are essential for success in mock trial, where students must work cohesively as a team to present a cohesive case.

5. Athletics and Music Parallels: Mock trial is a wonderful activity because it’s a lot like athletics and music, and draws those students because it has many of the same respective benefits to students. It can be like athletics because you are working with a team and it is not something you can do alone. You’re working with adult coaches and perhaps an attorney who is able to show you how real trials work. Furthermore, the work is done as a long-term shared goal with that team and with those coaches and it’s competition; there’s winners and losers; there’s a day that you show up for where you compete, and it has all the great adrenaline rush, improvement, and progressions that go along with competition. In addition, it can be similar to the arts (playing an instrument, choir, drama) due to the shared aspect of presenting, assuming characters, and having the same shared goal that one works towards. There is a day where one shows up to compete, a competition day just like in a game of athletics or a recital or concert with performing arts. However, unique to mock trial is the emulation of a professional – specifically someone in the legal profession. Students will do as real trial lawyers do, just in a classroom setting and competition setting.

Of course, incorporating these debate exercises does not mean that students will not learn things like: how to give a jury address, ask questions of witnesses, and deliver objections. We will also review the basics of mock trial such as: who are the players, what are the roles, what is the geography (where do people stand and who goes where in a courtroom), what are the parts of trial, what is the batting order of trial, and what are some of the rules and customs of trial. By integrating debate exercises into our mock trial curriculum, we aim to provide students with a comprehensive skill set that will not only enhance their performance in competition but also equip them with valuable lifelong skills.

However, we can also move to a couple things that are specific to mock trial. You’re going to understand theme and theory, how do you understand a case, how do you analyze a case, how do you win in that case and adhere to that theory throughout. How do you work with themes, book covers, movie trailers, how do you explain your case to jurors who haven’t heard it before in a way that makes it really easy and accessible to understand theme and theory. Of course, since we read books and watch law related films we know that objections are a part of trial, some of the most fun you can have in a trial is objecting and trying to trip up your opponent and really some of the most satisfying things you can do if you’re the one presenting, if you’re the proponent of evidence and someone objects, to be able to handle that objection and get back seamlessly to what you were doing with the witness examination is also very satisfying. We are also going to be talking about evidence (one of the most important courses in law school), and the rules of evidence. All in all, Mock Trial is a fantastic activity that is highly recommended at Cogito!