Keith Robison

History 2700

Service Learning Project

Dr. Mulderink

9/23/02

The Coming About and Purpose of the Bill of Rights

A Historical Presentation at Cedar High School

            On Thursday, September 19, 2002, I had the opportunity to teach an American History class at Cedar High School about the creation and purpose of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a vital piece of history as well as a priceless document of American politics. It is very important that all Americans, especially our young adults learn their rights as set forth in the Constitution. The purpose of this project was to forever shape the ideas and opinions of these students for the benefit of our nations as they one day become our local and national leaders.

            After hearing about the opportunity to work with Richard Anderson and the History Department at Cedar High School, I immediately contacted him and we discussed what needed to be accomplished with this project. His instructions were brief yet specific enough to get me started. He wanted his class to learn about the Bill of Rights. After taking an American National Government class over the summer I had quite a bit of experience with this topic and felt exited to do it. Teaching this class for Mr. Anderson could also help me better understand what its like to teach in secondary education.

            Preparing for this presentation was interesting to say the least. It was amazing to see how much I still didn’t know. After some personal review on the subject, followed by a reading of the Bill if Rights I filled in the Service-Learning Project Proposal and delivered it to Prof. Mulderink. After a quick rundown of my proposal, Dr. Mulderink approved of me doing the project but required more information leading to the accomplishment of my task. This request put me to work examining websites and several text books. It was important that I had enough resources to conduct this presentation.

            As I mentioned earlier, I had taken an American National Government class from which I still had the text book. Keeping the Republic as the book is titled helped me to form a strategy for which the presentation would be made. In order for these kids to get the full effect it was important to get them involved. So I felt a proper out line was needed. It took several hours to set up a good outline that could be followed to ensure I touch upon every important aspect of this time period. Each step of the outline helped unfold the others to create not only a sense of building up to the Bill of Rights but also a greater understanding of its significance.

            Information was badly needed for this. The info necessary for me to properly teach 87 minutes needed to be studied and on hand for instructing and answering questions the students may have. To find this information our history book The Enduring Vision was very informative. It gave me the insight to what happened prior to the creation of the Bill of Rights and who the men was that were involved. Between this text book and the Keeping the Republic Text book, the Articles of Confederation, (an important document prior to the Bill of Rights), were unfolded more clearly speaking of its benefits but mainly of its downfall and how it played a key role in the coming forth of the Bill of Rights. Federalists and Anti-federalists were also addressed, giving examples of their writings. Between these two text books there was plenty of information gathered to explain the history of our country at this time as well as the desired rights and regulations of our new nation. My only concern now was that this information might be too much for what they have learned so far. Also, standing before them and spouting off statistics and names might prove unsuccessful at a high school level.

            To illuminate the worry of over educating them I went to Mr. Anderson and asked for the class’s text book titled America Pathway to the Present. Next I read through the chapters which we would be touching upon, comparing them to the information I had already obtained. Also, to get a better feel for the level they were learning at, I visited the library at Cedar High School and went through several of their books dealing with the Revolutionary War and the Founders of our nation.  What I found was that these kids were at a higher level that what I had expected. Other than a few alterations the information gathered from the two college text books appeared that it would be simple enough for them to understand.

            To make sure that the information was significant and that the correct points of interests were being viewed, a copy of the outline was given to Mr. Anderson for his approval. After his approval was met, the final touches of marking sections and taking notes was done to complete the presentation.

            On Thursday, Sept. 19, at 1:13 p.m. the class came together consisting of about 20 students. Mr. Anderson informed me of who would be responsive and who usually kept reserved. He also made mention that a few of them were sometimes difficult to handle. He then wished me the best of luck and tucked back into his office where he remained for the duration of the period.

            Class began with me giving a brief introduction of whom I was and why I was there. The Service Learning Project was explained and that it gave the SUU students an opportunity to go out and improve the community in their field of study. When introductions were over I asked the class specifically “what is the Bill of Rights?”

            Most of the students returned with the deer-in-the-headlights look.  Finally a few voices in the class muttered that it was a paper that listed all of our rights. It was agreed on by the class that this was a legitimate answer. The next question I asked was “where did the Bill of Rights come from?” Or “how did it evolve and why?”. This time no answer was given.

            To create an image of what it was like for the colonies to rule themselves a scenario was given which included the students being left to educate themselves.

“Suppose all of you were fet up with Mr. Anderson, you didn’t like the way he taught and you felt like you didn’t need him around to teach you history. So you form together and kick him out of the classroom. Now, you are all alone. It is vital that you learn this information so what is the best way for you to educate yourselves?”

            At this point some students said that they could just read the textbook on their own and be educated that way. Others insisted on electing the smartest kid in class to teach. In response I mentioned that studying on there own could leave weak spots within the class where some students would fail to do their reading. It was also mentioned that if they choose the smartest kid in class to teach then they run the risk of falling back in to the very set up they had just eliminated. They decided that because of this opposition that the class should be divided- one side for being taught while the other side stood for self educating. But was division the correct answer? I informed them that if they would divide once chances are they would divide again, maybe a dozen times making the class weaker with each division.

            Next they felt it best to vote on the situation. They agreed that the majority should win and the minority should comply. So then I asked what they would do if the vote came out to be something like 15 to 14, should the majority rule if the majority only wins by one? This really got them thinking and even frustrated about what to do. This is exactly what I wanted to have happen to prove that creating a government was no easy task. This scenario was perfect at bringing us in to talking about the Constitution. We briefly discussed the federalist and anti-federalists comparing some of their writing tactics to the major political parties of today.

            The next step that we took was learning about the founding fathers and those who helped to bring about this country. It seems that throughout history there has always been an ongoing saga over who deserves power in politics. When it’s all said and done, usually the individual with the most money as well as the right gender and race come out triumphant. It was important for the class to know just how the founding fathers in this country were selected to make such drastic decisions. These were all white males who usually came from wealthy families or who prospered financially on their own. They’re money meant power which enabled them to achieve the positions of representative of their home colonies. Women had no say in what was to occur in the colonies, nor did the many African Americans. Both were considered ignorant and lower class.

            The goal of explaining this to the class was not to overshadow the well deserved heroism placed upon such characters as Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin. Its purpose was to bring out the cultural concepts and class distinctions during the Colonial period. Examining this helps to paint a clearer picture of why the founding fathers were in fact, fathers and not mothers as well as white in color and dressed elaborately. To demonstrate who qualifies for such a position an object lesson was in order for them to learn first hand the tainted ways of early American discrimination. This scenerio seemed somewhat risky but still kept within the confines of the school discrimination policy. First, I asked the class to choose the smartest pupil in the room. After several outbursts and finger pointing a quiet girl was selected who humbly denied having any advanced intelligence. I asked the class if they would choose her for a position of representation over them to pass laws and regulations that would affect them all. Many of them agreed that they would without hesitation do to her incredible learning skills. The question was then asked “Is this how the representatives of the colonies were selected?” The class answered no but couldn’t give a clear explanation as to why. To help give a clear explanation as to how these men were once selected, I had the entire class stand up. I informed them that we were going to eliminate everyone that did not qualify for such a prestigious position and whoever was left standing would be the class representative. Immediately I had all the young ladies sit down. A brief explanation was given how women were often treated no better than animals or slaves and that their position in society was in the kitchen not in politics. After the women sat down all individuals that were not Caucasian were as to take their seats. Even though being a different race had nothing to do with the ability to obtain intelligence or stand as a leader, the opportunity was not theirs to enter the political arena. They to fell subject to persecution much like the women.

            With all the white young men still standing I then asked whose parents owned a business or land. All but two sat down. Out of the two remaining young men the question was presented as to how much land each of their parents owned. The one with fewer acres sat down. The one remaining was proud and very outspoken of his effortless accomplishment. I congratulated the class on finding their new representative. One girl, who previously had been arguing with the young man commented that she would never vote for him and several others agreed if they had the chance. The young man being somewhat of a troublemaker only smiled with pride.

            The students had now been educated up to the coming about of the Bill of Rights. They had received plenty of information about where it was created, who created it, and how. Now it was necessary to discuss further as to why the Bill of Rights was and is so important for the progression of this country. To accomplish this, a print out of the first 13 Amendments found at http://memory.loc.gov/const/bor.htm were handed out to each student so that a proper breakdown of these laws could be analyzed. A full review of our discussion on each Amendment will not be given in this paper; however, a few examples are necessary to show how the class participated. Here are some of the questions which the students were to address followed by an explanation of their responses.

Amendment 0ne- What does freedom of speech mean to you?

            The students expressed how they appreciated the fact that the things which they said and wrote could not be censored providing it doesn’t inflict harm on others. They found this act of freedom particularly important being in their teens and anxious to voice their opinions about certain topics.

Amendment One- How does freedom of the press apply to our lives and nation?

            After asking this question the students made mention that it allows anything to be printed and gives a type of freedom of speech. I mentioned that I am in the military and that I subscribed to Time Magazine to keep up on the current war issues with Afghanistan and Iraq. In many countries where freedom of the press does not exist, this type of magazine would be highly censored only printing what the government wants us to know. The students were then given a chance to mention several of their favorite magazines. They learned that without freedom of press, many of those magazines would never make it to the shelf.

Amendment Three- Does this give us the right to keep and bare arms?

            With this amendment there has been a lot of debate as to whether this pertains to every U.S. citizen or simply to organized militias. One of the students was a serious hunter- I had seen her in some of my local hunting magazines and made the comment that I had read her articles. Also, her dad was an avid hunter and her uncle was Iron County Sheriff Dude Benson. When this question was asked of her she stood firm that it entitled all worthy citizens the right to own and use firearms. It was my desire to find an anti gun believer in the class to provoke a debate but was unable to, so I played the part myself finding it difficult to do being one who hunts as often as time permits. Yet it sparked some good debate about the fact that even it is people who commit crimes and murder not the guns. People should not be punished for others poor choices. My defense was how it was wrong to bring guns into schools and highly unnecessary. They agreed to a point. But in the end I confessed to being a concealed weapons permit holder and that I enjoyed having the right to carry a firearm as I seen fit.

            The time quickly passed allowing no chance to quiz the students on what they had learned. However, because of the extensive debating and consistent comments from all the students I felt satisfied that they had learned quite a bit about The Bill of Rights and how they’re lives are affected by them. The class was appreciative of my visit and some positive comments were made which made me feel good about the whole presentation. This project helped me to better understand the great need for profound teaching in American History to those who will one day lead this nation. It also taught me more about The Bill of Rights and the necessity to learn more about my rights as a U.S. Citizen. After completing this presentation I have a far greater respect and appreciation for history teachers at a secondary level and recognize the importance of their occupation.