Fall 2009
LAW-RELATED EDUCATION NEWS
Volume 3, Number 1
Hatton W. Sumners Teacher Institute Foundations of Democracy INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page 2 LRE Coordinator’s Welcome Representative Democracy In America Page 3 June 15-19, 2009, the second annual Hatton W. Sumners Teacher Institute was held in Tulsa at the Renaissance Hotel. The institute focused on the Center for Civic Education’s Foundations of Democracy curriculum. This curriculum covers the four basic ideas of government responsibility, justice, privacy, and authority. Each morning scholars gave lectures regarding each concept. Monday, OU School of Law Associate Professor, Dr. Mary Sue Backus, lectured on Privacy. Tuesday, OU Political Science Assistant Professor, Dr. Margaret Ellis, lectured on Responsibility. Wednesday and Thursday, famed Constitutional scholar and Professor Emeritus of Indiana University, Dr. John Patrick lectured on Authority and Justice. During the afternoon sessions, mentors Sandy Baker and Melissa Bell conducted classroom applications for each topic. The final day was devoted to the Bill of Rights Institute’s (BRI) Being an American program. BRI Scholar, Dr. Eldon Eisenach and BRI Master Teacher, Travis Lamb presented the training on the final day. Participants received a classroom set of FOD textbooks, a copy of the book, “The Pursuit of Justice”, co-authored by Dr. Patrick, lesson plans/activities, and American Bar Association civics education resources. The institute was dedicated to Laura Cross, Hatton W. Sumners Trustee and attorney, who played a critical role making this training opportunity possible.
PACE XX Page 4 Oklahoma Supreme Court Teacher and School of the Year Nominations CIVITAS World Congress State Project Citizen Showcase Page 5 We the People The Citizen and The Constitution
Dr. John Patrick autographs copies of his book for participants Debbie Brown and Sarah Connelly.
LRE
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Making Connections… Jane McConnell, OBA/LRE Coordinator Welcome Back to School banners are flying across school buildings throughout our great state. This is always a time of great excitement in Law-related Education. We have several programs and trainings needing your immediate attention. Get your calendars and mark these dates: PROS (Peer Mediation) Trainings - September 2009 www.okbar.org/public/lre/pros.htm America’s Legislators Back to School Program
www.ncsl.org/public/backsch.htm
Ask an Oklahoma legislator to your classroom. Margaret Ford fordm@oksenate.gov Dr. Rick Farmer rickfarmer@okhouse.gov Oklahoma Close Up – February 17-19, 2010
www.okcloseup.org
Oklahoma High School Mock Trial 2009-2010
www.okbar.org/public/mocktrial
We the People…The Citizen and Constitution State Finals – January 23, 2010 www.okbar.org/public/lre/people.htm Project Citizen State Portfolio Finals – May 5, 2010 www.okbar.org/public/lre/citizen.htm
Daily Civics Quiz www.civiced.org
Representative Democracy in America
LRE Coordinator, Jane McConnell; Trust for Representative Democracy Director, Karl Kurtz and RDA Trainer, Becky Walderbach, attend the Representative Democracy in American Conference held in Washington, D.C., July 12-15.
Representative Democracy in American is a project of the Center for Civic Education, The Center on Congress at Indiana State University, and The Trust for Representative Democracy, National Conference of State Legislatures. Project founders strive to enhance Americans’ understanding of representative government and to foster civic involvement. OBA’s Law-related Education Department received grant funding to present RDA teacher training and materials to Oklahoma Teachers. The 2009-2010 year marks our second year of RDA training. If you are an educator interested in attending a training session or scheduling a training in your area contact Jane McConnell at (405) 416-7024.
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PACE XX Programs Advancing Citizenship Education
PACE XX participants: front row, l-r, Candy West, Sandra Lee, Cindy Tracy, Debbie Brown, 2nd row, John Howell, Julie Cheek-Graves, Kyla Kaufman, Michelle Guillory, Becky Walderbach, back row, l-r, Stephen Coley, Martha King-Clark, Diane Walker, Sherry Fowlks, and Miechelle Summers (not pictured: Lawrence DeMarchi) July 20-22, 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma Bar Association Law-related Education PACE teacher’s institute. The institute theme was “Discovering the Digital Divide” which focused on legal issues relative to the utilization of technology in education. OBA Executive Director, John Morris Williams opened the institute with remarks addressing the issues of privacy and security associated with the easy accessibility of personal data on the Internet. Oklahoma Education Association, Associate General Counsel, Heath Merchen followed with copyright issues in the classroom. Merchen further provided guidelines for the use of technology for professional communication, classroom instruction, and practices to avoid. University of Central Oklahoma adjunct instructor and Charles Haskell Elementary School Media Specialist, Becky Walderbach conducted the technology training for the institute. Training included Microsoft tools for teachers, effective use of the Internet in the classroom, and audio/visual applications. Attendees received flash drives containing training materials and Flip Video Cameras for classroom use. Tuesday evening participants enjoyed dinner with Law-related Education Committee Members, David Hopper and Jane Pennington. Walderbach concluded the institute with the Representative Democracy in America program. The RDA program contains a wealth of supplemental materials and online resources for effectively teaching democracy in the classroom. LRE Committee Member, David Hopper shared in the final day in order to learn more about the RDA program. This session ends the first year of RDA training offered through the LRE Department.
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Oklahoma Supreme Court School and Teacher of the Year Nominations Now Being Accepted One teacher and one school will receive recognition for the development of creative and innovative citizenship education programs. The winning school and teacher will each receive a $1000 cash award and trophy. The awards ceremony will be held in the latter part of February in a special Supreme Court session.
Become part of this tradition of honoring academic excellence
Applications are due Wednesday, January 13, 2010
CIVITAS World Congress “Civic Education: Reconciling our Past Building a Democratic Future” Cape Town, South Africa May 27-June 1,2009
Primary Source Documents Archiving Early America www.earlyamerica.com
Digital History www.digitalhistory.uh.edu Library of Congress www.loc.gov
Find the full story here: www.okbar.org/news/front/2009/06/ default.php
Constitution Day September 17th Project Citizen State Showcase Students participating in the Project Citizen Program learn how to address problems within their school or community. This year a panel of judges consisting of LRE Committee Members and LRE community volunteers reviewed seven portfolios submitted from across the state. Janet Cook’s 5th grade class at Laverne Elementary, received both first and second places. The first place portfolio entitled, “Repair the Roads...Fix the Problem”, states the communities’ need for street repairs in Laverne. The second place portfolio, “Painting the Town”, presents strategies for rejuvenation of main street. All Saints Catholic School of Norman received third place honors for “Clean and Green” which addresses litter problems in Griffin Park.
Our Documents www.ourdocuments.gov
OU College of Law www.law.ou.edu/ ushistory/index.shtml
Primary Source Learning www.primarysource learning.org
The National Archives www.archives.gov
US History Site.com www.ushistorysite.com
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CALENDAR 2009/2010 September 18th Encyclo-Media LRE Booth PROS Workshops Elementary Weatherford Sallisaw Tulsa/Jenks OKC Middle/High 11 Weatherford 18 Sallisaw 25 Tulsa/Jenks 30 OKC
10 15 24 29
October 8th-13th Annual Project Citizen Coordinator Meeting Miami, Florida 15th OEA LRE Booth
December TBA Citizen and the Constitution District Competitions
January 13th Supreme Court School and Teacher of the Year Nominations Due 23rd Citizen and the Constitution Competition State Finals History Center
The We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program serves to promote civic competence and responsibility among elementary and secondary students. The curriculum enhances the student’s understanding of the US Constitution and the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Educational Testing Service studies show students participating in The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum not only improves their political knowledge, but outperform comparison students in all topics. A grant from the Civic for Civic Education enables the LRE Department to provide professional development and classroom sets of textbooks to Oklahoma teachers at no charge. Participating high school classrooms have the opportunity to compete in district competitions. Competing students take part in a simulated congressional hearing. During the hearing students articulate their positions regarding historical and contemporary issues relevant to the Constitution. This allows students to demonstrate their knowledge and comprehension of constitutional principles. District winners advance to the state finals. The state champions travel to Washington, D.C. for the National Finals. This fall LRE Committee Member, David Hopper, is organizing attorneys and professors to coach classroom teams. The coaches will evaluate the team’s performance and offer suggestions for improvement. Hopper believes this concerted effort will enhance the level of achievement for Oklahoma students. Educators interested in utilizing this curriculum and/or obtaining a coach, please contact Jane McConnell at janem@okbar. Program information and contact information are also available online at: http://www.okbar.org/public/lre/people.htm
LRE Law-related Education Programs Oklahoma Bar Association P.O. Box 53036 Oklahoma City, OK 73152
Find it Online!
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PRSRTSTD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OKLAHOMA CITY, OK PERMIT NO. 740
Oklahoma Bar Association
www.okbar.org/public/lre/default.htm
Executive Director
What you will find on the LRE web pages:
Law-related Education Committee Chairperson
John Morris Williams
Jack C. “Chip” Clark
Vice Chairperson Contact Info News Releases Calendar of Events Description of Programs Useful links Free Resources
FORMS: Free Materials Request Request for Attorney Speaker Supreme Court Teacher and School of the Year Applications
Tracy Pierce Nester
Law-related Education Coordinator Jane McConnell janem@okbar.org (405) 416-7024
Administrative Assistant Debra Jenkins debraj@okbar.org (405) 416-7023 1901 N. Lincoln Blvd. P.O. Box 53036 Oklahoma City, OK 73152 Toll Free Number: 800-522-8065 FAX: (405) 416-7088