Constitution Day is September 17th and PCSS will be in the mix celebrating the day with our partners at the National Constitution Center, Arcadia University and the Pennsylvania Bar Association, all exhibiters at the upcoming PCSS Annual Conference next month in Bethlehem (see https://pcssonline.org/pcss-conference-2012 for more details on that program).
In honor of the Constitution's 225th anniversary, PCSS Executive Secretary Don Imler and his students from Blair County’s Hollidaysburg High School will celebrate the day by reading the Constitution aloud at the NCC. The Hollidaysburg contingent will be working with PBA lawyers and judges including PCSS President-Elect David Trevaskis. That program will start at 1 p.m.
At 2 p.m., Arcadia University hosts the NCC debate on Voter ID. Less than two months from Election Day, a powerful debate rages over Pennsylvania's voter identification law—currently the strictest in the nation. A distinguished panel will discuss the constitutionality and consequences of this controversial law requiring voters to show a government-approved form of identification at the polls.
The program is the kickoff for a civics partnership between the NCC and Arcadia which will pump support to Arcadia for civics education and engagement over the next 3 years. PCSS Board member and Arcadia professor Jodi Bornstein has been championing civic engagement among her students for years and the formal agreement between the NCC and Arcadia which will be signed that afternoon flows in part from her work. Arcadia President Tobey Oxholm will be joined by former Governor Ed Rendell, Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Midge Rendell and David Eisner, the head of the NCC and the former Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service under President Bush (#2), in celebrating this partnership.
The 17th is also Rosh Hashanah. While Constitution Day commemorates the signing of the Constitution at the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish high holy day, falling this year on September 17 and 18, celebrates the Jewish New Year and begins a period of reflection and atonement. That Constitution Day falls on the same day as Rosh Hashana provides an excellent opportunity to talk about constitutional protections of religious freedom and America's heritage of religious tolerance. The George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom has a great lesson that uses a letter our first president sent a Jewish community to teach about the development of the American concept of religious freedom. Given the fact that Constitution Day overlaps with this major Jewish holiday, this lesson content is especially appropriate. The lesson can be accessed from their website at
http://gwirfmaster.org/gwirf_live/images/gwirf/GW_color_kit.pdf
The California Three Rs Project: Rights, Responsibilities, and Respect has published an excellent article called 2012 Constitution Day and the Jewish High Holidays that teachers in any state may find useful. It provides background information on Constitution Day, the Jewish High Holy Days, and our constitution's protections of religious freedom. It also links to a variety of relevant Constitution Day resources and lessons. The full article is available at
http://ca3rsproject.org/pdfs/Constitution%20Day%20&%20Jewish%20High%20Holy%20Days.pdf
Our partners at the Pennsylvania Bar Association are celebrating with the theme Dream Big … as the Constitution Allows You! Celebrating 225 years - Sept. 17, 1787 – 2012.
The PBA is holding Celebrate the Constitution Poster, Essay and Video Contests.
This year's theme celebrates the 225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. The theme is "Dream Big … as the Constitution Allows You!" Use the poster, essay and video contests as a fun follow-up activity to assess students' comprehension of your lesson on the Constitution or American government. Ask students to express their dreams for the future and how the Constitution and freedoms we enjoy as Americans allow them to pursue their dreams.
What makes our country different from other countries; what freedoms do we enjoy; what is the student's favorite freedom or right? Encourage your students to enter the poster or essay contest or work as a class to develop a video about their dreams for the future, their dreams for the U.S., our freedoms and rights as U.S. citizens.
Check it out at http://www.pabar.org/public/education/12lessonplanguide.asp
The NCC has these resources at http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution-day/
If you are doing something special for Constitution Day, please let us know!