iCivics Website Unveiled

Former senator and astronaut John Glenn and retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor teamed up to launch iCivics Ohio and just unveiled a new website designed to bring students up to speed on civic education.

Glenn and Justice O’Connor are concerned with lack of knowledge students have about government and citizenship. The website makes sure civic education isn’t an afterthought for schools and their students.

Ohio students will have the opportunity to access digital civic-education lesson plans made specifically for teachers.

As you may know, I’m an iCivics representative for the state of Ohio, so this program is very near and dear to my heart.

Please click HERE to read more about the website. And leave a comment below if you have any questions about the program.

 

 

Teachers: Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and iCivics Need You – Hurry

Do your students like video games? Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the iCivics team are recruiting 30 teachers or up to 1,200 students for a pilot program to test a popular game called Argument Wars. The program will help create assessments to go with the games.

 

The pilot program will be limited, so apply quickly. The teachers and students need to be in 5-10th grades and have access to computers between September 29 and October 24.

 

What you get for participating:
·         Access to reports of how your students performed in the game
·         A certificate of participation from iCivics

Your students will also learn about landmark Supreme Court cases.

Interested? Contact Alison Atwater for more information. Alison.atwater@icivics.org.

 

Schools and Teachers Needed for iCivics Pilot Project

Do you want to help students this summer learn more about citizenship? iCivics needs your help!

iCivics is working in conjunction with GlassLab and Filament Games to upgrade a popular game called Argument Wars. Middle and high school students and teachers are needed to improve the learning that occurs within the game’s cases.

iCivics is looking for 6th through12th grade students to play four games and then complete a short online survey. Their teachers – you! – would be volunteering on June 16 through July 3 to supervise the students testing out the new version of Argument Wars and provide feedback from what they also learned from the game. All pilot testing takes place online.

Contact Alison Atwater at alison.atwater@icivics.org by June 6 to learn more about this terrific program.

iCivics Teachers Council Needs You

How would you like to be a part of a national effort to create free, innovative educational materials to reverse our young peoples’ declining civic knowledge and participation?

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s iCivics program is accepting applicants for its Teachers Council, to help with teacher engagement and product development.

In four years, iCivics has produced many educational video games as well as vibrant teaching materials that have been used in classrooms in all 50 states. It offers the nation’s most comprehensive, standards-aligned civics curriculum that is available freely on the Web.

By becoming a member of the council, you’ll receive many benefits, including:

• A letter of commendation from Justice O'Connor sent directly to your administration.
• A press release in your local community upon acceptance to the Council. 
• Access to an all expenses paid meeting in Washington, D.C. with fellow Council Members, iCivics staff, education and technology leaders, and Justice O'Connor as her schedule permits.
• And much, much more.

How to apply:

• Read the instructions / FAQs, then download the fillable PDF application.
• Attach the completed application and the 3 other required documents (outlined in the instructions) to teacherscouncil@icivics.org by October 18 at 5 p.m. EST. 
• Share this link with your teacher friends!

Teachers and anyone passionate about serving teachers may apply, including nonprofit directors, library and media specialists, and curriculum specialists. Instructions and the application are available online, with the application due by October 18 at 5 p.m. EST.

Could You Pass the U.S. Citizenship Test?

Although most of us become U.S. citizens through birth, people born outside the United States can do so through the naturalization process.

Becoming a naturalized citizen involves preparing for a 100-question civics test, although an applicant is typically asked to answer only 10 questions during the oral exam. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an applicant must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass the civics portion of the test.

I bring this up because I read a story recently in Parade magazine about former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s iCivics program, for which I am a representative in Ohio. A citizenship questionnaire was part of that article.

Would your civics knowledge allow you to become a U.S. citizen? Check out these questions by clicking the link below—some are pretty tough— see how many you get right.

http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/news/quiz2/citizenship1.html

You Be the Judge

The 2012 Summer Olympics has ended but interest in athletics remains timeless. Athletics inspired a legal issue for Ohioans to think about.

Is playing high school sports a right or a privilege? That’s a question being posed to students at a newly revised display in the Visitor Education Center here at the Moyer Judicial Center.

This case came before the Ohio Supreme Court in 1981 after high school students who attended a Cincinnati private school but lived in Kentucky were prevented from playing junior varsity or varsity sports because a state rule limited eligibility to children of Ohio residents. The Kentucky students went to court claiming the rule violated their constitutional right to education and equal protection under the law.

What do you think? Is playing school sports part of the right to an education?

You can book a tour with the Visitor Education Center to find out what the Ohio Supreme Court justices decided in this case.

Ask Justice Judy

Starting this week, every student who tours the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center and the Supreme Court of Ohio will receive a bookmark as a small token of our appreciation.

The bookmarks will be mailed to their teachers. Each bookmark contains two web addresses. One provides a link to my blog where students have a chance to send me a question. Students just have to click on the box that says “Ask Justice Judy” at the top right of this page. The questions can be about the judicial system or something they might be curious about after seeing the Visitor Education Center. I’ll answer a select question every week via video on my blog. This way, the students can learn more about the courts, and I can learn what interests them.

The second link – icivics.org - gives students free access to civics education games. A great lesson plan helps them understand the basics of how government works and these games can reinforce those important lessons.

We can’t wait to see you on your visit to the Moyer Judicial Center.

Three New Education Links

Other places in the United States are becoming involved in civics education. Here are a couple of sites I’ve discovered, along with the ABA’s URL on the topic of democracy and public education.

www.classroomlaw.org  is from Oregon, and it begins:

Democracy, civics and active participation in the community are not things with which we are born – they must be learned. Which is why Classroom Law Project brings vital and engaging civics and law-related education programs into Oregon schools, teaching students at all grade levels the values and skills essential to being a participating citizen in our democracy. Each year, our innovative, timely, practical and fun programs involve and inspire over 400 teachers and 24,000 students from 250 schools in 75 Oregon communities.

www.civiced.org  from California also has similar goals:
The Center for Civic Education is an independent, nonprofit organization based in California with a network of program coordinators in every state and congressional district in the country and in more than seventy emerging and advanced democracies throughout the world. The mission of the Center is to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry that is committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy in the United States and other countries. The Center administers a wide range of critically acclaimed curricular, teacher-training, and community-based programs in conjunction with civic educators and activist around the world.

Finally, here is the American Bar Association’s Public Education Division: www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education.html

Social Studies Teachers and the Judiciary: Partners in Civics Programs

I just finished speaking at the 21st Law and Citizenship Conference sponsored by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education, and WOW, they did it again!

It was great speaking with social studies teachers from across the state about the judicial system and what Ohio’s courts can do to help students learn about their responsibilities as citizens.

I explained how teachers and the judiciary can be partners in civics programs. I also told the elementary, middle and high school teachers about iCivics.org , a national program designed to inspire students through interactive civic education. It’s a super way for students to have fun learning through interactive on-line games and lessons.

Justice Terrence O’Donnell also attended the OCLRE conference and spoke about the differences between interpreting and making law. And, a special congratulations to Justice Robert Cupp and his wife, Libby, who received the prestigious Founders’ Award given for significant contributions to the growth of law-related education.

What a fine way to celebrate the weekend that memorializes the signing of our U.S. Constitution!

Please comment if you have any questions for me about the courts or iCivics.org.

Annual Constitution Day observance approaching

In about two weeks, Americans will celebrate the 224th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

Each year, schools that receive federal funds must educate students about the Constitution on that day, although it will be Friday, Sept. 16, since the 17th is a Saturday this year.

Ohio civics teachers searching for potential activities may go to the iCivics Web site for resources. Here is the link: http://www.icivics.org/Constitution_Day. Teachers will find a lesson plan and a game for students to play. Have fun!