Two classes of students from Classical Conversations, a national home-school program, met Dec. 4 at the Colquitt County Courthouse with State Court Judge Richard T. Kent as they get ready to participate in a mock trial in April.

MOULTRIE — On Friday, Dec. 4, the Challenge B students from Classical Conversations (CC) Moultrie and Valdosta campuses met State Court Judge Richard T. Kent in preparation for a mock trial that the two classes will conduct next spring.

Kent gave the classes and their families an overview of the judicial process, answered questions, and gave a tour of the jury deliberation room and judge’s chambers in downtown Moultrie’s historic Colquitt County Courthouse, built in 1902.

In April, the two classes will reconvene in Kent’s courtroom when they assume roles in a capital murder case. Students will play the roles of attorneys, the accused, witnesses, and court officers. Each team will have the opportunity to serve as both the prosecution and the defense in the two-round competition, providing each student with a unique opportunity to practice the rhetorical skills that are the centerpiece of a classical education.

Across the United States, Classical Conversations communities exist to complement parents’ home-centered education and connect them with like-minded families. Each community is facilitated by a trained parent-director, and classes are led by trained parent-tutors who model the classical tools of learning. Tutors encourage students toward becoming lifelong learners while also encouraging parents in the classical teaching of their children. In the middle and high school years, students hone their dialectic and rhetoric skills in Challenge communities. As students move into CC’s Challenge program and work toward becoming independent learners, they read, discuss, debate, analyze, and write about award-winning literature — always within the framework of history and a Biblical worldview.

If you would like more information about the Classical Conversations programs available in Moultrie, please visit their website at ccmoultrie.com. If you would like more information about the Challenge B program, typically for students ages 12-14, please contact Director Melanie Johnson at (229) 733-6353.