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Why Teaching the Constitution Matters

3/15/2015

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As a history teacher, I am often asked by people what my approach is to engage students in what many adults remember as being a boring middle or high school experience in the classroom. It's not an easy question to answer or a simple answer to explain, but in recently applying for a fellowship position I was confronted with that exact task in the application. 

Here is my take on why teaching the US Constitution is so utterly important in developing a well-informed voting populace, and perhaps more importantly, in ensuring that our democratic experiment continues to progress towards the ideal of a "more perfect union."


The ultimate challenge in teaching American History is that the revolutionary ideals at the heart of our founding documents were hypocritical and flawed. The Constitution’s inspirational rhetoric stands at direct odds to what my African American students see as their forefathers’ own lived experiences. That “all men are created equal” really meant all white landowning, males is a bitter pill to swallow. The flaws and inconsistencies of the Constitution are not just roadblocks to student understanding, but opportunities to live out our creed and shape the nation in their own mold.


The Constitution sets forth a noble goal: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…” This bold proclamation firmly entrenches two beliefs: First, that the government is created by the people of this nation, and second, that our democracy is fluid as we aim to perfect our nation. These two guiding principals illustrate the importance of studying the Constitution and guide how I teach history. The Constitution serves as the backbone for my students’ exploration of American History.


Beginning in the seventh grade, my class explores colonial life and the rallying cry of “no taxation without representation”, through the formation of our nation. Indeed, the first year of my two-year course centers on civics and how the Constitution was interpreted and implemented through the end of the 19th Century. From investigating the Constitution, my students understand the framework of how our American democracy works. But they also, through explorations of the slave trade and the Civil War, understand the shortcomings of the application of these ideals and rights to the broader citizenry.


My eighth grade students spend an entire term investigating the Civil Rights Movement. In tackling these modern issues, students begin to realize how we have progressed towards the ideal of “a more perfect union.” In fact, we recently debated whether or not the 14th amendment should be revered as the most important component of the Constitution. Stemming from our historical investigations, a few astute students brought up how the current gay rights issue coming before the Supreme Court is not unlike the struggle of the Civil Rights Movement. They posited that since the 14th Amendment was previously used to extend rights to African Americans and women, why not apply it more broadly to homosexual or transgender individuals. Their insightful interpretation of the Constitution speaks directly to the culture I foster in my class and the importance of teaching the Constitution in middle school.


President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” This incredibly poignant maxim is at the root of my students’ exploration of American History. Through all its flaws and hypocrisies the United States Constitution still stands as a beacon for freedom in this nation.


Understanding the past and instilling a sense of civic pride and responsibility is how you achieve a better democracy, and indeed a better nation. It will be up to my students to take up the mantle for freedom and use their historical and Constitutional knowledge to shape this nation in their own image, to make this nation one in which they are proud to live, and one in which we continue our march towards a more perfect union.

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In Honor of Dr. King's Legacy

1/19/2015

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06124
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I wanted to post here my Community Meeting message from this past Friday. Every Friday at Harlem Academy we gather as a Middle School and teachers share a reflective message with the students and staff that connects to our school’s creed and mission. In leading my meeting this past week, I wanted to share how empathy and compassion are core to the legacy of Dr. King. In particular, I wanted to illustrate how empathy is key to solving our current threats in the world and our country and that the legacy of Dr. King is not static, that today is a day of service that should further the goals and ideals this great man stood for.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first signed into law as a federally recognized holiday in 1983 and celebrated for the first time in 1986. But like Dr. King’s long struggle towards equality for all, the holiday would not be celebrated in all 50 states until the year 2000.

We all know who Dr. King was. From his emergence during the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, to his arrest in Birmingham, the march in Selma, and of course perhaps his most famous moment in his “I Have a Dream Speech.” Dr. King believed in the ideals of our nation’s founding documents – the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Most importantly, that all men are created equal, that the individual – regardless of color or creed – has worth, and that we are all entitled to certain “unalienable” rights and freedoms.

But Dr. King lived in a time when these rights and freedoms were not protected for African Americans in our country. King fought tirelessly for the enforcement of equal rights for all citizens. He fought to end racism and poverty. He stood for his convictions and his belief in the true nature of this nation’s promise to its citizens. He stood for these things in the face of threats, beatings, jailing, and ultimately gave his life in furthering the movement.  He preached using non-violent direct action and civil disobedience to achieve his goals. Using one’s body to create tension that can lead to dialogue and compromise or resolution of our differences. It meant never speaking ill back. It meant never hitting back. In the face of violence and hatred, Dr. King refused to give in to hate or violence. Instead, he preached love and empathy when confronted by the worst in humanity.

In November of 1957, after having battled and one the right to first-come-first-served seating on Montgomery buses, Dr. King spoke to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church (Montgomery, Alabama):

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies." 

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A Junior Historians' Assessment

11/19/2014

 
As we wind our way closer to Thanksgiving break and the end of the first trimester at Harlem Academy, my seventh and eighth grade Junior Historians are hard at work on their final assessment of the term. Next week we will be taking final exams, covering all material since September, but today we focus on the American Revolutionary War and the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s. Both assessments challenge the students to defend a given thesis both by rote and in utilizing a given source document. 
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b4_u4_test.docx
File Size: 32 kb
File Type: docx
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b1_unit_four_test.docx
File Size: 476 kb
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Try your hand at a Junior Historians' assessment. 

Today's Primary Source: The Little Rock Nine Crisis, 1957

10/29/2014

 
PictureFrom: www.smithsonianmag.com
The hardest part in selecting a primary source is finding one that is engaging, clear, and historically relevant. It's also the most important part of a primary source for the students. A document that can shed light on a perspective that might be hard for students to understand or explain is an invaluable tool in the Senior Historians' arsenal. Today's document is one of my favorites, if not one of the most difficult. 

A few years ago I participated in a summer seminar through the Gilder-Lehrman Institute that took me to Kansas to study the role of presidential politics in the Civil Rights movement. On one of the days, we were able to visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library and comb through the archives. It was here that I encountered a vitriolic letter written to President Eisenhower in reaction to his handling of the Little Rock Nine crisis in 1957. The blind rage and ignorance is softened by a clear and logical explanation of the author's beliefs. To my knowledge this letter has never been publicly shared outside of my classroom but its potential usefulness in creating dialogue around reactions to Brown and the Little Rock Crisis implore me to share it with the wider historical community.

As we read and discuss this in my 8th grade class today, we welcome your reflections, thoughts, and or comments. I will share some of the responses with my students in our wrap-up discussion tomorrow.

Without further ado, A Letter to President Eisenhower from a "A.B. Nimitz", 10/1/1957:

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A Junior Historians' Assessment

10/17/2014

 
PictureFrom switchboard.nrdc.org
It's Friday, which means that it is ASSESSMENT DAY in Mr. Robertson's U.S. History class at Harlem Academy. In the 8th grade we have been examining the legal roots of segregation and its impact on the African American population (particularly in the South) and the nation as a whole. A big focus in this unit was the unequal treatment of African Americans in the armed services and the role of President Truman in sparking the modern civil rights movement. I've attached a copy of today's assessment. Try your luck and see how you stack up against my 8th graders. You can submit your answers to sean@juniorhistorians.com.

b4u2_2014_test.docx
File Size: 104 kb
File Type: docx
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