Fall 2008
Volume 2, Number 1
LAW-RELATED EDUCATION NEWS
PACE XIX “Oklahoma Government: Know Your Three Branches”
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Page 2 LRE Coordinator’s Welcome PACE XX Reunion Chief Justice James Winchester pictured with XIX PACE participants inside the Oklahoma Supreme Court Courtroom. The nineteenth annual Programs Advancing Citizenship Education institute was held July 13-17, 2008, at the Reed Conference Center. The institute began with the Bill of Rights Institute’s “Supreme Court DBQ’s:Exploring the Cases that Changed History”. Participants spent a day at the Oklahoma Bar Center and State Capitol. Chief Justice James Winchester and Judge Gary Lumpkin invited the teachers into their courtrooms and discussed issues facing the courts. Speakers for the conference included Frosty Troy; Attorney General Drew Edmondson; State Department of Education, Social Studies Curriculum Director, Kelly Curtright; OK Elections Board Training Coordinator, Carol Morris; Rep. Gary Banz, Rep. Ed Cannaday; 2007 Supreme Court Teacher of the Year, Janet Cook; OU Associate Professor of Law, Mary Sue Baccus; OBA Executive Director, John Morris Williams; OBA Director of Communications, Carol Manning; LRE Committee Chair, Jack Clark; LRE Committee Vice-chair, Tracy Pierce Nester; and OBU Professor, Mary Oppegard. Conference attendees left with great resource materials and information.
Page 3 Hatton W. Sumners Summer Institute Page 4 Lawyers in The Classroom Page 5 Law Day Mock Trial Program Supreme Court Teacher and School of the Year Contests Norman HS at National Finals
Judge Gary Lumpkin with PACE participants in the Court of Criminal Appeals.
LRE
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Making Connections… Jane McConnell, OBA/LRE Coordinator Patiently we have awaited the true connections of today’s technology within our classrooms. Now, with the click of a mouse, instant information fills the screen with a multitude of possibilities. For an example, The Center for Civic Education has updated their We the People…The Citizen & Constitution high school text. To support the student edition they have launched direct connections on their webpage www.civiced.org. Students preparing for their hearing questions for district competitions can now do their research for each unit, lesson by lesson, on their computers. At the same time, teachers can access a direct correlation of the 1995 edition to the new edition and updated PASS correlations. Our state competition is scheduled Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at the State Capitol.
Mark your calendars: PACE 20th Reunion Picnic ~ Sunday, July 12th , 2009 ~ We the People . . .Citizen and the Constitution Annual Coordinator Conference June 20-24, 2008 Washington, D.C. Below: Speaker Ted McConnell, Executive Director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, speaks about the strategies for countering the decline of civic learning in American Schools.
Pictured left to right: District 4 Coordinator, Dianna Morgan; District 3 Coordinator, Cheri Franklin; District 5 Coordinator, Becky Walderbach; State Alumni Representative, Brady Henderson; We the People Alum, Karina Henderson; We the People National Director, Robert Lemming; District 2 Coordinator, Ed Cannaday. Not pictured: District 1 Coordinator, Miguel Portillo.
LRE
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Pictured: (top left to right) Mikella Mayes, Michael Harris, Sandy Baker, George Gorham, Randy Wassam; (second row, left to right) Pam Hamman, Lori Reed, Rebecca Reeder, Jeana Walker; (first row, left to right) Joie Estes, Pam Allendar, Martha King-Clark, Candace West.
Hatton W. Sumners Foundations of Democracy: Basic LRE 101 Summer Institute The first annual Hatton W. Sumners Summer Institute was held June 16-20, 2008, at the Reed Conference Center. The institute focused on the Foundations of Democracy curriculum published by the Center for Civic Education. The curriculum addresses the four basic concepts of government, responsibility, justice, privacy, and authority. Members of the academic community lectured on each topic. Dr. Richard Harvey, Political Science, Western Illinois University, presented Authority. Dr. Gary Copeland, Political Science, OU, presented Responsibility. Dr. Mary Sue Baccus, OU School of Law, presented privacy. The renowned constitutional scholar, Dr. John Patrick, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University, presented the topic justice. Mentors, Sandy Baker, Pam Allendar, and Rebecca Reeder provided classroom applications during the afternoon sessions. The institute concluded with the Bill of Rights Foundation’s, “Being an American” program, presented by Brett Helm and Dr. Raymon Huston. Program participants were presented with a classroom set of textbooks and lesson plans, made possible through a grant from the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation.
In Memory of Laura Cross Trustee Hatton W. Sumners Foundation 1945-2008
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Lawyers in the Classroom Tom Walker District Judge, Ardmore
Constitutional Rights Foundation www.crf-usa.org Consource www.consource.org/ index.asp?sid=13 Oklahoma Bar Association www.okbar.org/php/ courtOpinions.php
Wilson Elementary School Students (Miami)
Oklahoma attorneys enjoy visiting classrooms across the state. If you would like to request an attorney speaker, forms are available at: www.okbar.org/public/lre/ classroom.htm
More great websites for educators‌.
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of working in the program is the opportunity to visit my alma mater. Fortunately (for me, at least), I am invited to address the Miami elementary schools each year, including the one I attended. It seems to please the Roosevelt Roughriders when I tell them I am one of them and that I traveled all the way from Ardmore (I show them an Oklahoma map.) to be with them.
C-Span Classroom www.c-spanclassroom.org www.studentcam.org
Anyone who has ever spoken to any student group knows what a challenge it is to make the program educational, but not boring. When the audience is elementary students, the challenge is magnified. To accomplish this I developed a workbook - of sorts. I ask each student to pick one of the 13 colonies to represent; then we use the workbook to create the Constitution and Bill of Rights - all in 50 minutes!
Oklahoma Election Board www.ok.gov/~elections/voteok08.pdf
I began participating in the Lawyers in the Classroom program several years ago. Over time, I migrated toward speaking to elementary schools and narrowed my focus to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Now, while I will accommodate a request from any grade, I much prefer to address these younger students.
Oklahoma Council for Social Studies www.okcss.org National Council for Social Studies www.ncss.org
Judge Walker speaks to the Roosevelt Roughriders of Miami about the Constitution.
Bill of Rights Foundation www.billofrightsinstitute .org
LRE LRE CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2008
October 9-14th Annual Project Citizen Coordinator Meeting Washington, D.C. 16th OEA LRE Booth
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Law Day Annual Student Contest TOPIC: “A Legacy of Liberty: Celebrating Lincoln’s Bicentennial” Competition details available online www.okbar.org Entry deadline: December 12, 2008
Mock Trial Program Announcement Thank you to those who support the Mock Trial Program. A six-minute video is now available online. The video will undoubtedly encourage new participation and renewed interest in our program. I still get chills watching it. Please watch if you haven't seen it. It is an encouragement to all. www.okbar.org/public/mocktrial Judy A. Spencer Oklahoma Mock Trial Coordinator
December TBA We the People Citizen and the Constitution District Competitions 2009
January 14th Supreme Court School and Teacher of the Year Nominations Due 24th We the People Citizen and the Constitution Competition Oklahoma State Capitol
Project Citizen State Portfolio Showcase The Project Citizen Showcase was held May 7, 2008, at the Oklahoma Bar Center. Janet Cook’s 5th grade class at Laverne Elementary, placed first with their entry “Don’t Choose a Path to Apathy”. Second place winners were Lea Ann Halliburton’s 5th grade class at Laverne Elementary for their portfolio entitled, “Health Waves”. Placing third was Donna Garrison’s 7th grade class portfolio “It Takes Two”.
Applications for Oklahoma Supreme Court Teacher of the Year and School of the Year are available online. 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 before the Supreme Court.
Become part of this tradition of honoring academic excellence.
Applications are due Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Norman High School students compete in the We the People Citizen and the Constitution National Finals held May 2-6, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
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 Lending Resources
FORMS: Free Materials Request Request for Attorney Speaker Supreme Court Award 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