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

Justice Lanzinger Welcomes New Lawyers

I was privileged to give the keynote speech after more than 900 new attorneys took the oath of office on Nov. 7 at the Ohio Theatre here in Columbus.

Among other things, I told them: “Your status has changed. You are now a lawyer. You are now an attorney at law. What you say and what you sign guarantees trust, for as your oath said, 'you are an officer of the court.' You now officially belong in the land of the law… as an attorney you have the tools to help those most in need. Apart from understanding law, attorneys have to be good with people. After all the heart and the soul of your practice will always be your clients. Their problems are paramount. Their needs and wishes must always be considered.”

More than 81 percent of the 1,176 applicants who sat in the July 2011 exam received passing scores and satisfied all of the Supreme Court’s other admissions requirements. They are the future leaders of the practicing bar of Ohio and we wish them successful careers in helping others.

In case you missed it, a link to the entire speech is right here.

First school to use transportation grant visits the Supreme Court of Ohio

It’s great to see the $30,000 worth of transportation grants being put to good use!

Fifth and sixth graders from Keene Elementary traveled from western Ohio to learn how the judicial system works firsthand. The students participated in a Harry Potter mock trial and learned about forensic evidence.

The Keene students had never before visited us at the Supreme Court of Ohio. They were so excited to be here!

This is the first year the Visitor Education Center received money to help bring students to the Ohio Judicial Center. If your school is interested in touring the Visitor Education Center please call 614.387.9223 or e-mail courttours@sc.ohio.gov.

Ohio Teachers Become Students during Two-Day Program

Teachers from across the state visited the Ohio Judicial Center on Nov. 2 to learn more about the Supreme Court of Ohio.

More than 20 Ohio teachers participating in the annual Ohio Government in Action program sponsored by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education. The two-day program teaches the educators about the three branches of government.

Besides being welcomed by Chief Justice Maureen O’Conner, the group also took a tour of the Visitor Education Center, observed a Supreme Court of Ohio oral argument session, and ate lunch with Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Terrence O’Donnell, Robert R. Cupp, Yvette McGee Brown and myself.

The group also toured the Statehouse and met with Secretary of State Jon Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine and had meetings with legislators.

Teachers: Please don’t hesitate to contact the Visitor Education Center if you’d like to tour the Ohio Judicial Center.

Grant Winners Selected

Congratulations to the 100 schools that have won a field trip transportation grant to visit our Ohio Judicial Center! It was a difficult process to winnow down the 250 applications that were received by the deadline. As you know, we had only 100 grants available worth up to $400 each.

Our grant winners were selected by the Visitor Education Center based upon need, and we are happy to report that classes which would otherwise have had a very difficult time in reaching the home of the Supreme Court of Ohio now will have the chance to do so.

We are grateful to the Ohio Judicial Center Foundation, which donated $30,000 to help off-set transportation costs. And we’re also glad that those who applied have shown that they value a visit to see us.

Come visit the Ohio Justice Center

Let me remind you that we have many visitors to the Supreme Court here in Columbus. Just today, Ohio Northern University’s LLM students toured the Ohio Judicial Center. Nearly a dozen law students sat in on oral arguments and talked with Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor before eating lunch with Justice Robert Cupp.

You are welcome to come in person to see oral arguments at any time. Here is the schedule. We begin at 9 a.m. on days arguments are scheduled. You can also watch us online. It’s a great way to learn about Ohio’s rule of law.

Hathaway Brown Students Meet Chief Justice during Field Trip

You are never too old to decide what you want to be when you grow up. That’s a great piece of advice from Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor.

She spoke with students from Hathaway Brown (an all-girls school in Shaker Heights) about how she originally wanted to become a doctor, and then a teacher, before paving her path in life to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

We want to thank the students from Hathaway Brown for not only asking the Chief amazing questions but for prepping so well for their tour of the Visitor Education Center at the Ohio Judicial Center.

We hope they enjoyed the case they heard being argued before the seven Justices of the Supreme Court and learned how important the rule of law is.



Students and teachers: If you have any questions before or after your visit to the Supreme Court, please post them here on the blog, and we will get you an answer ASAP.