Civics with Dean – Class 1

Civics with Dean: This class focuses on liberty (yours), the power of the individual, and concepts of self-government. There will be an emphasis on what you need to know to be an active citizen and awareness of your rights. We will discuss certain amendments and how they IMPACT you (street law), financial literacy (can I afford that?), basics of government - information to know when you can say enough, as well as the rights and privileges you are owed! izzit* time we see how government works for us, our responsibilities, and how to get an equitable outcome for you?

More often than not, students seem to dread history and/or civics for many reasons. One reason is the voluminous amounts of reading the student must complete to “keep up” with what inevitably becomes the second reason: rote memorization of facts. Names, dates, key figures, etc. What needs to be infused in the classroom dynamic is the educator’s passion, emotions, expertise (tying the past to their understanding). In the movie Jerry Maquire, Cuba Groding, in his role as Ron Tidwell, screamed, “Show me the money!” Translated to students today, show me the relevance! With the right resources, you, the educator, will show them the money/relevance.

Civics Class 1 – Back in the Trenches (Classroom)

Syllabus – check. Notebooks, izzit pens and flash drives ready for students – check. I was ready for my first Civics class. As the 2020-2021 school year began, I started with the Pledge of Allegiance.     

While it's a traditional start to a school day, I had a hidden agenda! By the time we all got to "…and to the Republic, for which it stands…" I stopped the class.

"What is a Republic? Why is it in the Pledge?" The questioned was posed and students offered various responses. After allowing them a few awkward attempts toward to answer, I immediately started izzit.org's Teachable Moments (a short video that both gets to the point and shakes things up,) A Republic. As I looked across the classroom, students were attentive and engaged. The Teachable Moment allowed me to then reframe the question, "Why did the founders believe a republic would be better than a democracy?" Student answers became more along the lines of what our Framers intended. 

The idea of liberty was introduced, and we began to discuss individual & property rights and what liberty meant to each of them. LIBERTY was written on the whiteboard and students added their thoughts (see picture). Since a republic form of government and liberty are synonymous, I turned the class discussion to what gave our Founders the impetus, the ideals of both individual liberty & property rights, and how government serves the people. To help stimulate the conversation, I queued up another Teachable Moments, Magna Carta. This “great charter” happened over 800 years ago, but ties to the U.S. founding documents, underscoring that each document safeguards a person’s right to property. It began to help students piece the puzzle together. Great discussion and ideas were shared. 

Finally, I wrapped my class with the homework assignment - completing the First Amendment Word Games (Found in First Amendment educational video under izzit Extras). This will help students build a foundation for understanding prior to next week’s Bill of Rights, First Amendment discussion.

Bio:

Dean Graziano is the Vice-President of izzit.org. He is a multi-state, award-winning educator and former Curriculum Specialist Teacher grades 6-12 Social Studies, with over 25 years in education. He served on the Massachusetts MCAS Standard Setting Panel, and also selected by the College Board to be an Advanced Placement Reader for U.S. History. He worked on the historical inquiry model and a national presenter for ABC-Clio, a Social Studies data base company. 

In 2007, in a surprise visit to his school, he was awarded the United States Department of Educations' American Star of Teaching Award. Dean was selected as the 2017 State of New Hampshire's Extended Learning Opportunity Coordinator- of -the Year. Dean’s pilot program in Rochester, NH was singled out by NH Governor, Chris Sununu as the model for the State of N.H. Career Academies. In 2019, he developed and implemented a proposal to purchase a Mobile Classroom ( a new & remodeled 36’ RV, aka M.A.P.s) utilizing Perkins V funding, to bring CTE/WBL programming - leveling the playing field/equity for ALL NH students and spoke nationally at several ACTE Conferences on this model.

From the Homeschool Front by Colleen Hroncich...100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know

I’ve always been interested in law, history, economics, and politics. So when I saw a book titled An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know, I was immediately intrigued. By a stroke of luck, I was in Washington, DC recently when the authors were giving speaking about their book and the multimedia platform behind it.

Randy Barnett, professor at Georgetown Law and Director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, and Josh Blackman, professor at South Texas School of Law, developed An Introduction to Constitutional Law to innovate how constitutional law is studied.

Purchasing the book gives you access to an online library of 63 videos featuring photographs, maps, and even audio from the Supreme Court that bring the 100 cases to life. Blackman says he uses the platform to flip his classroom; the students read the chapters and watch the videos before coming to class. Then he can focus class time on discussing the importance of the decisions and really digging deep into the issues at play.

The book is roughly chronological, but it’s primarily organized around key constitutional principles, such as enumerated powers, federalism, equal protection, and specific constitutional rights. Since it includes background and supporting information for each case, the program also provides a great history and civics education.  

The authors emphasized that the book is meant to be widely accessible. While it is great for law students, it is equally valuable for high school and college students. Given our participation in speech and debate, I correctly assumed my kids would be pretty interested when I showed them the book and the video library. We’ve only just begun digging into it.

Barnett describes the book as “an overarching story [constitutional law] about 100 individual stories [the cases].” He says the best way to understand the story, which starts at the founding and continues to the present, is to learn about them in the historical context in which they were decided. 

With most Americans lacking even basic knowledge about our constitution, this program could be an important step toward improving constitutional literacy. 

PS from izzit.org – Randy Barnett is one of the Constitutional experts in our new video, Becoming Equal Under the Law, which explores how the Constitution has changed over the years to give civil rights to more people. Watch it now!

Colleen Hroncich loves that homeschooling allows her to learn right alongside her children. A published author and former policy analyst, Colleen’s favorite subjects are economics/public policy and history. She has been active in several homeschool co-ops and is a speech and debate coach.

Book Review – The Persecutor by Sergei Kourdakov by Colleen Hroncich

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, which launched the beginning of one of the most brutal regimes in human history. Beginning with Vladimir Lenin and continuing with Joseph Stalin and beyond, tens of millions of people were killed as a result of political purges, man-made “famines,” slave labor camps, and more. Despite these appalling facts, most of the students in your classroom are probably largely ignorant of the horrors of communism. 

One very effective way to illustrate the brutality of the Soviet Union for your students is to have them read The Persecutor by Sergei Kourdakov. This powerful autobiography was written by a KGB agent whose job was to hunt down and kill “Believers” – the government’s name for Christians. It details his life growing up in Russia: being orphaned at a young age; practically raising himself as he bounced from the streets to group homes and back to the streets; and eventually finding a “family” in the Communist party. I don’t want to give away too much here, so I’ll leave it at that.

Not surprisingly, The Persecutor is incredibly brutal and sometimes contains graphic violence. You would definitely want to preview it to ensure it is age appropriate for your class. However, I can almost guarantee that you and your students will be forever impacted by Sergei’s story. I was introduced to it by my then 14 year old daughter, who read it as part of her English curriculum. She has a much deeper understanding of totalitarianism and the importance of freedom than do most kids her age, and much of that stems from this book. 

Colleen Hroncich loves that homeschooling allows her to learn right alongside her children. A published author and former policy analyst, Colleen’s favorite subjects are economics/public policy and history. She has been active in several homeschool co-ops and is a speech and debate coach.

From the Homeschool Front … The Law by Colleen Hroncich

In a previous post I discussed Frederic Bastiat, a French economist and politician who lived from 1801-1850.  One of his seminal works, The Law, was published not long before his death in 1850. At the time he wrote The Law, socialists in France were proposing government program after government program to “solve” perceived social and economic problems. Bastiat was trying to show people that the law is meant to protect their rights not violate them.

“The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish!” Bastiat gets off to a roaring start on the first page of The Law.

Bastiat goes on to note, “Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty , and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.” The law is the “collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense.” Thus the law should not be used for any purpose other than to defend the life, liberty, and property of all.

When the law is used to take from one group and give to another, Bastiat calls this “legal plunder” and denounces the practice. When the law permits the government to do to citizens what would be illegal for citizens to do to each other then the law has been perverted. Bastiat provides numerous examples of the injustices perpetrated by the government under the socialists’ plans: protective tariffs, subsidies, guaranteed profits, guaranteed jobs, and more. Examine these, he says, and you will find they are always based on “legal plunder, organized injustice.”

The best summary of The Law is probably Bastiat’s frequently repeated phrase, “The law is justice.” More precisely, he points out, the purpose of the law is to prevent injustice. If governments could stick to this definition of the law, freedom would abound.

Colleen Hroncich loves that homeschooling allows her to learn right alongside her children. A published author and former policy analyst, Colleen’s favorite subjects are economics/public policy and history. She has been active in several homeschool co-ops and is a speech and debate coach.

Six Drinks that Changed the World by Andy Jobson

I’m grateful to my sister for sending my A History of the World in Six Glasses as my birthday present this year.  I highly recommend it to you, no matter what you may teach.  Tom Standage examines various epochs by considering the role of a particular drink.  For the ancient world (think Sumer and Egypt), he provides a discussion of beer.  (In particular, I was intrigued to gain some insight as to why we offer toasts at ceremonies.)  The Greeks, of course, grew in power in part due to the wine they were able to produce and trade.  World history teachers would learn some interesting tidbits and find some useful materials for students to read.

I teach British literature from a sequential, historical perspective, and so one unit is on the Enlightenment.  Standage’s discussion of coffee houses as the ‘internet’ of the seventeenth century, helping to spark the scientific advancements that took place, was quite interesting.  There was also some very interesting material about how western Europe managed to procure and grow its own coffee when the Arab world proved to be very proprietary over its resources.  He also noted the resistance to coffee posed by various religious leaders.  No discussion of Britain would be complete without reference to tea, and Standage provides a helpful unit explaining the rise of the East India Company.  I couldn’t help but think of “Too Big to Fail,” izzit’s video on that company, as I read.  Those chapters provided some very helpful additional information about the collusion between the British government and that behemoth company, including some very unsavory dealings.

Another unit deals with distilled liquor (‘spirits’), in particular rum.  While there is discussion of the triangular trade and reference to the American colonial period, there is also some entertaining material on the British navy.  Did you know that “grog,” that sailor’s mixture of rum, water, and limes, may have played a role in British mastery of the seas?  Read the book to find out why!

You might not be surprised to learn that Standage chooses Coca-Cola for his sixth influential drink, noting how it came to be inseparably associated with American values in the “American Century.”  These chapters provide quite useful fodder for discussions about the values of capitalism vs. communism (or the potential pitfalls, to some people, of a truly free market.  Throughout, Standage tells interesting and entertaining anecdotes, mixing in some broad ideas of how cultures change and adapt.

So whether you teach economics, history, or literature, you may find this to be a valuable book.  If you teach none of these things but use the izzit videos in your classroom, you may find portions of it helpful in providing additional background information.

Happy Reading!

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.

Book Review - Inventing Freedom by Daniel Hannan (Andy Jobson)

Review – Inventing Freedom by Daniel Hannan

I like to think that one advantage of teaching is that it keeps me reading.  Some people, however, just read widely because they love it. My mother-in-law is one of those people, and she often leads me to some wonderful books. Daniel Hannan’s Inventing Freedom is one of those great finds.

Hannan, a member of the European Parliament, provides an overview of the English-speaking world (which he calls the Anglosphere) that in some ways pays homage to Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking People.  Hannan takes one volume to share his insights instead of four (a bonus for busy teachers) and focuses heavily on the reasons that one island, and its offshoots, created what we think of today as Western Civilization. Those who like to denigrate the value of that civilization will probably hate this book, but those who see the importance of principles like the rule of law, private property, personal liberty, and representative government will find much to appreciate here.   

Here’s a small sample:  “(S)mall businessmen have been the drivers of progress through the centuries.  Societies that laud martial valor, nobility, and faith tend to be less pleasant places to live than societies that value freedom, enterprise, and privacy.  The petit bourgeoisie, whom Marx so despised, have contributed more to human happiness than any number of crusaders.  And they have done so, in the main, unhonored, unthanked, and unnoticed.”  (327)

Daniel Hannan

Like Churchill, Hannan looks far back into the Anglo-Saxon period in England to trace the growth of the principles stated above.  He reminds us Americans of the debt we owe to that nation while arguing that the English colonies that eventually declared independence are perhaps the strongest example of these values. As De Tocqueville said in Democracy in America, “The American is the Englishman left to himself.”  

This does not imply that only those Caucasians of Anglo-Saxon heritage are true Americans—I always try to remind my students that our nation’s citizenship is one of the few based not on ethnicity, but on philosophy.  To be American, I would argue, means to think a certain way.  Sadly, I worry that we’re losing that unique identity as we strive to become more like continental Europe. Hannan reminds us of the value of what we’re so casually throwing away. 

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America. 

Great Teacher Resources – iCivics.org by Mike Siekkinen

If you’re teaching history, civics, or government, have you heard of iCivics.org? It’s great, and I use it with my students.

iCivics is a non-profit organization dedicated to reinvigorating civic learning through interactive and engaging learning resources. Founded and led by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics provides students with the tools they need for active participation and democratic action, and teachers with the materials and support to achieve this. The site has educational games that my students love playing. Games vary from having students take on the role of the President of the United States, making decisions as well as working with all the different departments in Washington, to running a law firm where students match lawyers and clients cases learning the Bill of Rights. There are also games showing what happens during a jury trial and demonstrates how local government works.

The site is free and also has loads of teacher materials. In addition to lesson plans, there’s a section on webquests covering multiple topics. Also available are entire teaching units on multiple subjects as well as access to source documents. There’s a search engine on the site where you can select your state and by standard, icivics will display which games and areas tailor specifically to your state’s standards. I encourage you to check out this free, interactive, fun and informative site that students love. I have been using this for a number of years and my students really enjoy it! It’s also available on multiple platforms (internet, IPAD's, Chromebooks, etc.) so it’s easy to get to no matter what kind of technology your school is using.

If you’ve tried iCivics, what do you think of it?

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.

Great Teacher Resources – Brainpop and FreedFlix by Mike Siekkinen

Have you tried Brainpop? Our school bought a site license for it last year; it was very reasonable. Brainpop is a multi-topic site that kids really enjoy. Students log in and then can be assigned topics/areas to visit on the website. It really does have something for everyone. Students can play games, watch short videos and then take quizzes on the assigned topics. Best of all, these can be very quick (10 minutes) or lengthy, depending on what you assign. I find the site easy to navigate and my middle school students love it.

Another site I am using is FreedomFlix.This also requires a site license but is also very reasonable. FreedomFlix is a history related site that is customizable with regards to reading levels. It has loads of topics ranging from early colonization to all of the wars America has been involved in. Three different Lexile levels are available with each lesson as well.  Students can even select "read aloud" and the text is read to them. I find both options great for my multi-level readers as well as my ESOL students. I, with very little effort, design webquests for my students that guide them through the site and information. There are videos, maps, historical documents and stories for each topic as well as external links to other sites. Great site for high, low and in between reading levels!

My students think the website is fun and enjoy when they are "assigned" topics to do on Brainpop. I have always thought it the best of both worlds when students are enjoying themselves and are learning at the same time.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve used either of these resources, or if you have other places teachers should know about.

Dr. Mike Siekkinen, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, became a teacher as a second career. He teaches history at St Marys Middle School as well as Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State in Georgia.