The Earl Wentz and William Watkins Foundation's foray into the public school classroom wrapped up its starting initiative the week of May 25 with an audience-interactive play written and developed by our second-grade students based on their studies throughout the 18-week program.  

Twenty-one 7- and 8-year old students participated in the program at Charlotte, NC's Winterfield Elementary School, which focused on development of the imagination, learning to present in front of  groups, and the integration of song and movement with story.  Drawing on educational techniques

Drawing and note from a student to William Watkins, "Thank you for showing me how to act and sing."

created by Earl Wentz and others, which have been honed and adapted by William Watkins and the foundation's education team, we created a progressive and challenging curriculum to meet the needs of these students, most of whom had never participated in the creative process previously.  These needs were identified in consultation with Winterfield Elementary School principal Regina Boyd and by our Summer Musical Theatre instructors and align with the foundation's goals of

• developing excellent technique;
• fostering individual and group esteem through participation in the arts;
• expanding the vision and ability of young artists; and
• building community through active participation in the arts and interactions with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

And we got it.  Thanks to the help of some outstanding officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), who came to the school at the request of William Watkins, "deputized" two of our students, and then investigated the "crime scene".  At the home of the Three Bears, the officers discovered "evidence" that included fingerprints (and paw prints), bowls of porridge that had been partially or completely consumed, a broken baby chair, and most-incriminating of all -- strands of gold hair by the porridge bowls and at the site of the broken chair.  CMPD Officers Tricia Edwards, Wes Propst, Bill Bostick, Jose Campos, and Karl Knudsen explained police investigative procedures, talked about what is good evidence, discussed fingerprinting procedures and what happens when crimes are reported to the police.  They also took questions from students and explained what to do if a student sees evidence of a crime or is approached inappropriately by a stranger.  These officers did outstanding work and not only helped make our learning experiences come alive in ways that students will remember but also put real, caring, compassionate faces to the police and the larger community.

But what to do with all that new knowledge?  We improvised.  Or rather the students did by taking the "evidence" to a mock courtroom and questioning Goldilocks, the Three Bears, the police, and various other characters from the woods who either saw Goldilocks or say they witnessed her engaging in various stages of mischief.  We then took the students' improvised dialogue and crafted our own play, The Trial of Goldilocks.  Our students acted the various roles, including a judge, lawyers, and courtroom personnel, to hear testimony from the "witnesses" and consider the evidence and the credibility of the various witnesses.  The "jury", comprised of the audience from other classes, then considered the sometimes contradictory evidence and had to come to a conclusion about Goldilocks's "guilt" or "innocence", supporting their decisions with the evidence presented in the play. 

The excited and enthusiastic students did an amazing job in presenting their decisions and, in two separate showings of the play, on May 27 and 29, both "juries" declared Goldilocks "guilty", although the minority decision of "innocent", based on the facts that "she's just a little girl", "the bears left their door unlocked and open", "she was hungry and naturally curious", and "she didn't mean to break the chair" were rather compellingly argued by these astute second-graders.

Student teacher, Ms. Kinnell; second grade teacher, Zoe Riebli; Officer Wes Propst; Officer Tricia Edwards; Officer Bill Bostick; Officer Jose Campos; Officer Karl Knudsen; William Watkins; principal Regina Boyd; and some of our amazing cast members.

The punishment one student suggested -- "Send her to juvie!" -- was argued down by the first group, although ultimately "Goldilocks #1" (Tuesday), herself, declared, "I should go to jail!".  Thursday's Goldilocks wisely remained silent on her own fate and our "judge" of the day, after considering the three options presented by the students, decided, in a victory for "an eye-for-an-eye" justice, that "someone should go to her house and eat her food and break her chair."  

Did we have fun? Without a doubt.  Are we proud of and grateful to our spirited and talented CMPD police?  You bet.  (And our students, all of whom received "badges" from the police, were still sporting them by the end of the day.)  Did our students learn and did we accomplish our goals?  We'll let the pictures on this page and just a few of the notes we received from our students and principal Boyd (to whom, along with our Winterfield teachers, we also gratefully acknowledge a first-rate working partnership) speak for themselves.

A thank you note from one of the students, given to William Watkins on the last day of our program reads in part, "Thank you for teach[ing] me how to not be shy."

To inquire about a residency at your school with one or more of our teaching artists using our unique approach, please click here to e-mail us at educationalinquiries@ewwwf.org.