Week 12

Great job on the Constitution Bowl! Please be sure to thank Teacher Amber for putting together such a fun event for us, and Teacher Genne for hosting our game. It was a blast!
 
This week we dug into Amendment IV which protects our right against illegal searches and seizures, and Amendment V which protects us from double jeopardy and self-incrimination, ensures due process, and prohibits possession by the government of private property (eminent domain) without just compensation.
 
"We have been taught here to believe that all power of right belongs to the people; that it flows immediately from them, and is delegated to their officers for the public good; that our rulers are the servants of the people, amenable to their will, and created for their use."

-Charles Pinckney

 

 

This Week's Assignments:

 

 

• Opinion Paper - If a person is suspected of doing evil, should the government be allowed to search his property without his knowledge? (This is a correction of the original question which was written "with his knowledge.")

 

• Finish your Constitution Journals!!!! We will be going on the field trip IMMEDIATELY after co-op this Thursday, leaving at 2:45, so no dilly-dallying! Our destination is the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum located in Wright Park,  http://www.rain.org/~karpeles/taqfrm.html                                                                             followed by ice cream (Parents and siblings--if age-appropriate--are welcome to attend, and I may be able to give some kids rides home afterward if needed.) The cost is free, and I will have permission slips available on Thursday.

 

• We will be pleased to hear presentations next week given by Eliana and Hannah. Kudos to Zane and Tillie for enlightening us this week about Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Smith. Nicely done! 

 

• I want to leave time at the end of class on Thursday for you to pass off award requirements and to hand out ribbons, so please have your things in order for that.

I think that's it from me...if you have any questions, comments or concerns, you know what to do!

 

-Mrs. H.

 

 

 



Week 11

Sorry I missed the debate on raising the minimum wage, but I'm sure it was fun and that you guys learned a few things you didn't know before! We learned a little more about the Bill of Rights; that it is not a list of people's rights as much as it is a list of prohibitions for the federal government. Specifically, we looked at the 1st Amendment, and we learned what the "separation of church and state" was actually intended to mean; despite that it has been so badly misinterpreted in modern times.

"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

-Alexis de Tocqueville

Your assignments this week:

STUDY FOR THE CONSTITUTION BOWL!!!!!!! This Thursday evening, April 21st, we will begin promptly at 6:00 pm. Teacher Amber wants all the Key scholars to wear red, and the family team to wear blue, so make sure you pass on the message to your participating relatives. This will be a potluck dinner event, so please bring a dish to share.

Opinion Paper: According to the First Amendment, does a person have the right to go to a public park and swear around children?

Constitution Journal: There is no new assignment because you should have finished the entire Constitution! If you do not have it completed, you have until April 28th to finish it, so PLEASE catch up! I really want ALL of you to be able to go on the field trip! The field trip will be either during class on April 28th, or immediately after co-op. I will poll the parents (and discuss it with Mrs. Brennan) to find out what everyone prefers.

Presentations: Great job to Emma for setting the bar with her presentation on Malala Yousafzai! She is a very inspiring young woman whom we should all be familiar with. Next week we will be pleased to hear presentations from Zane and Tillie.

Keep up the good work, everyone!

-Mrs. Hellyer

Week 10

We learned a little more about the supremacy clause (Art. VI--that's 6 for all of you non-Romans), and what the heck "the Constitution is the supreme law of the land" really means. We also had a good, rousing discussion about revolution, why it's important to know your rights, and how to give the power back to the people.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant AND free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."  -Thomas Jefferson

Your assignments this week are:

• Hero Report - 2 to 4 page report on your selected hero due April 14th.

• Opinion Paper - What would life be like without the Constitution? And last week's paper topic is (for those of you who chose not to write it down and have thus increased your spring break work-load, tsk, tsk, tsk), If you were to make an amendment to the Constitution, what would it be? 

• Constitution Journal - Amendments XXIII (23) through XXVII (27). **Congratulations to Zachary for being the first to complete his Constitution journal, and the first on the list to go on the cool field trip!**

• Constitution Study Guide - STUDY IT!!!!!! (So you can kick some serious butt at the Constitution Bowl, of course!)

• After everything else is done, you may want to:
• Begin reading The Proper Role of Government by Ezra Taft Benson, available online here: http://www.properroleofgovernment.com/ where you can read it or listen to it! (Yay, Tillie!) We will be discussing it on May 5th.
• Work on your other award requirements--memorizing scriptures, George Washington's Farewell Address & vocabulary, the U.S. Heritage Award, watching movies, etc.

Think of Spring Break as a time to catch up without the interruptions of class! Use this time to learn at your own pace and enjoy it in the process! Have fun, and we'll see you in 2 weeks!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Eliana!

-Mrs. Hellyer