Teaching our next generation of citizens about democracy is the only way we will keep it!
Democracy — with all its complexities and frustrations — should never be taught as dry, dull or boring. And students should never be made to think they cannot effect change. Here are tools that can help:
Annenberg Classroom. This FREE website is a treasure trove of multimedia lessons about the U.S. Constitution — from award-winning videos to online games. Kids learn about the Bill of Rights, Supreme Court cases and so much more!
O’Connor Civics Challenge. The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy offers several tools for teaching the next generation of citizens about how democracy should work. Its O’Connor Ambassadors Civics & Debate Club promotes civil discourse, civics education and civic engagement for high school students. Camp O’Connor USA is is a free, merit-based summer program (applications are available in January) giving middle school students a deeper understanding of America’s democracy, branches of government and the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. The O’Connor Civics Challenge offers great prizes (including Apple laptops and iPads) to students in grades 6-8 who create an original mixed-media work of art or write an original song, essay, story or poem and/or produce a video focusing on one of the three branches of government, the responsibilities of American citizenship or our system of checks and balances. Students can also focus on the life and legacy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Anyone can learn from the videos of previous winners of the O’Conner Civics Challenge here!
You — yes, you! — can help the planet. Start in your backyard. This Washington Post opinion column explores (using beautiful animation) simple ways we can all help the environment. (Yes, global warming is a political issue that needs to be addressed in a functioning democracy!)
What The Constitution Means to Me. There’s a lot of tough content in Heidi Schreck’s award-winning play that wouldn’t fly at public schools fighting book bans and curriculum challenges. And that’s too bad, because there’s nothing boring about this real-life assessment of our constitution. Schreck earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States as a teenager. She resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives in this ultimately hopeful show.
