The students of the Law II classes practiced the ‘seven step traffic stop’ in front of the Performing Arts Center. The class had been learning how and why traffic stops occur in class, and are now completing a test grade for the unit.
“As we are practicing the traffic stop the students are getting more comfortable with it,” teacher Paige Ridge said. “Just seeing something doesn’t mean you know how to do it. Walking through the proper steps and everything gives them the first hand experience. It just helps them be prepared”
Because of an increase in students, Ridge could not use two separate cars for a more real reenactment like she has previously done. So she contacted Rebecca Harrison, LHS art instructor, to see if she could help with the situation. The cardboard doors were made by Harrison’s art class once they were finished with a previous project.
“I sent an email to Mrs. Harrison and said, ‘Hey, this is what I’ve got going on, is there any chance you have any students who could help me with this?” Ridges said. “Mrs.Harrison stopped by and said let me come up with a prototype. So she brought one down that she built and painted and I was like ‘that is perfect’.”
The cardboard doors are made so a student can put their arm though it, and while they sit down in a chair, can act as though they are inside a vehicle. The students work in four groups of three, one person being the driver, one the police officer, and another acting as dispatch.
“I enjoy being able to have hands-on experience and actually do it in person to learn how to do it,” junior Alyssa Estes said. “Being able to do this with the fake cars and everything helps me memorize it easier.”