ABSTRACT
In January 2008, on the first day of a new semester at Baltimore Freedom Academy (BFA), a small, social-justice themed charter high school and middle school in East Baltimore, a tenth-grader named Corey stood on his chair: “This is so boring!” he announced to his classmates, referring to the “Forming the Legal Argument” class that was about to begin.1 “I’m cancelling school for the day.” The result was immediate. Some students erupted in laughter and screaming; others darted into the hallway to chat with friends; others took out their headphones; one or two buried their heads in their arms. In the next class, which focused on the structure of legal argument, Corey gave the following oral presentation: “I am Corey. Me and my partner will argue this class is boring. Three people have laid their heads down. A couple have not shown much in the class. My team believes this class is boring.” This triggered other predictable reactions: running into the hallway, laughing, chatting, throwing assignment packets. The third and fourth classes had similar disruptions, similar beginnings, and similar endings.
