Exercise Your Rights

This past week we focused on The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments added to the Constitution in 1791 to protect the rights of the people from a powerful national government. Additional amendments aimed at protecting the individual (13, 14, 15, 19 and 26) are sometimes included in a loose definition of The Bill of Rights.

As you saw in our discussion of the Tinker Case, TLO, and most recently the Portsmouth High School Sword Case, you the students have rights. But we must also keep in mind there is a constant balancing act between liberty (your freedoms and rights) and order. The goal of The Bill of Rights is to protect individuals from a government that might infringe upon your freedoms. Should the majority have the right to curtail or take away your rights? We may not like what individuals or groups say and do but if we start limiting freedom of expression where does one stop? Let’s keep in mind a quote that has been attributed to Voltaire (French author, 1694-1778)

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it.”

Your Constitution Booklet

You have an opportunity this week to demonstrate your knowledge of how our national government is organized and some of the key aspects of how our government functions. The booklet you create should be suitable to use, for example, with an audience of foreign students visiting MHS.

Helpful hints as you work on this project:

Read the task carefully and the rubric; mark up the assignment; underline
key components of the task.

Make a list or outline of what you want to include in the booklet; what
terms or phrases are essential in order to teach someone about
our national level of government; think about how you will
incorporate this information.

Locate current events articles that will show our Constitution in action;
you have had practice doing this with our current events assignments
and our showing of The State of the Union address in class.

Think about how you learned about the structure of the national government,
its functions and the key principles we believe in as a nation.

Share the assignment with a friend or family member; talk about how
you are thinking about this project; break it into manageable
sections or chapters.

Go back and reread the task and rubric; did you do everything the task asked
for?


“John Adams” Period 7

Your next JA assignment is due after the February break. Take the time to review the tasks and rubric. You are to keep a journal for each chapter and respond to the entry questions.

You must also be prepared for an accountable talk activity by bringing in a question, quote or comment to start the discussion for each of the three chapters. You will be assigned to one of the chapters for the talk activity but you must be prepared for all of the chapters.

The chapters you are reading cover what historians refer to as the Early Republic. This is the same time period we have been talking about in class: writing of the Constitution, passage of the Bill of Rights and the administrations of George Washington and John Adams.

Another First

Harvard University, founded in 1636 and the oldest university in the United States, is expected to name its first female president tomorrow. Dr. Drew Faust, a historian of the Civil War South, is the author of five books, a former professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and the current dean of the Radcliff Institute of Advanced Study. I wonder if she is friends with Speaker of the House Pelosi?

Housekeeping

A friendly reminder that we will not do current events this day 3 as you are incorporating current events articles into your Constitution booklet.

You need to have your portfolio folder back in the classroom this week. Third quarter assignments are being returned and one of our goals for this quarter is to stay organized.

I will be at a training session on Monday focused on bringing back even more exciting ways for us to think and act like historians, so I will not be available for after school help. I will be available in the mornings and Wednesday afternoon if you need any assistance. You may also email me at asullivan@mpsri.net if you have any questions.