The Constitution
March 29 and April 3, 2007
These notes are not meant to be a summary of the presentation. Instead, they are my reflections on what was presented.
March 29, 2007
I was surprised that “How a Bill Becomes a Law” from Schoolhouse Rock to begin the presentation. I have fond memories of this series which is not as old as I thought it was. But the last song was produced in 22 years ago—before any of the presenters had been born.
“How a Bill Becomes a Law” was a fun way to begin what many students would consider to be a dull topic. I had not thought about this series for years and have since looked up additional information about it. A history of the series as well as additional information can be found on the unofficial Schoolhouse Rocks web site. I have already purchased a copy of the Schoolhouse Rock!: The Ultimate Collection which has all of the songs on it.
The presenters did a good job of summarizing the articles of confederation, the Virginia Plan, the development of political parties, and some changes over time.
One thing that I stress in class is that we need to acknowledge previous presentations as well as what is happening with world events. Incorporating George Washington into the discussion because he had been covered the class before worked well.
I must admit that I had a sense of quiet satisfaction when Mr. Newman mentioned a topic “which my colleague Brian will talk about now.” It is important to me that a classroom becomes a group of colleagues who work together. It was nice to see that the students did think of themselves as colleagues.
April 3, 2007
I was worried about the open discussion the presenters had planned for April 3 because such discussions are hard to pull off. Mr. Bishop, Mr. Newman, and Mr. Sied did a good job of making the discussion go well.
They began by citing a recent decision by St. Hugo’s Catholic School to forbid students to have MySpace accounts. On 6 April 2007, I found the following explanation of this issue summarized on St. Hugo’s website:
The “myspace.com” sites of many of the students violate these rules.
At the beginning of each school year, students and a parent are required to sign the school’s Internet Use Policy. The policy discussed the expectations of the school regarding the students’ use of the Internet at school and at home. It also acknowledged that, “ultimately, parents are responsible to set and convey the standards their children should follow when using all media and information sources.” It was STRONGLY encouraged that parents monitor the students’ home Internet use. It was also stated that the following behaviors are not permitted:
- Sending or displaying offensive messages or pictures ON OR OFF the St. Hugo network.
- Using inappropriate language to harass, insult or attack others.
Therefore, it is the RULE of St. Hugo School that NO ENROLLED STUDENT SHALL have a “myspace.com” webpage or any similar type personal internet site. Students were informed on March 20, 2007 that they must delete their “myspace.com” accounts if they wish to continue to attend school at St. Hugo. If a family chooses to allow their children to continue their “myspace.com” account, they will not be allowed to continue as students at St. Hugo.
Some students immediately claimed that St. Hugo was violating student free speech rights which I am sure was the intent of this example. However, because St. Hugo’s is a Catholic School, students do not have the same constitutional right to free speech as students in a public school would have.
If I had wanted to begin a discussion of student rights, I would have begun with Tinker vs. DeMoines (1969). But I think using the current MySpace issue at a Catholic school was a better choice because it was more immediate, students could identify with the issues better, and it allowed a discussion of public vs. private issues that apply to constitutional issues.
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