Category Archives: Constitution

The Constitution and s’mores

Posted on February 17, 2016 by jyourist

Today was the annual burning of our Constitution tests and, as I am retiring this June, perhaps the last time it will happen on school grounds. We are required to destroy these nationally mandated tests because of the off chance … Continue reading →

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15th Amendment

Posted on February 3, 2016 by jyourist

Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, the amendment securing the right of black males to vote, though the word black is not mentioned in the amendment itself. During Reconstruction, the period right after … Continue reading →

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Executive Orders because Congress is dysfunctional

Posted on January 7, 2016 by jyourist

Wow.

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An historic day!

Posted on June 26, 2015 by jyourist

Obama’s powerful and compassionate response to the Supreme Court decision today legalizing gay marriage. And the final poetic and heartfelt paragraph of Justice Kennedy’s Opinion for the majority: No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals … Continue reading →

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“How to Survive in Prison: A Brief History of My First Twenty-Three Years at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women” by Yvette M. Louisell

Posted on May 9, 2015 by jyourist

  How to Survive in Prison: A Brief History of My First Twenty-Three Years at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women 1988:  Pretend you’re not really in prison. 1989:  Pretend you’re not really in prison for life. Sleep as much as … Continue reading →

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The annual burn

Posted on February 11, 2015 by jyourist

Every year we burn our Constitution tests. Because our school receives federal funding we are mandated to give a Constitution test in the 8th grade and then mandated to destroy it just in case an upcoming 8th grader lays their … Continue reading →

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Letting the Constitution get under your skin

Posted on November 12, 2014 by jyourist

Yes, it’s that time of year. A week from today the 8th graders at our school will take the Constitution test. Because our school receives federal funding, 8th graders are required to pass this test in order to graduate and … Continue reading →

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Vote on Tuesday!

Posted on November 3, 2014 by jyourist

Right now my students are studying the Constitution, reading this document word for word. Not an easy task. Some of the language is ambiguous, lots of double negatives and dependent clauses, complicated syntax, new vocabulary. But we have learned the … Continue reading →

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In the pursuit of happiness…

Posted on October 30, 2014 by jyourist

For the past month we have been studying the Constitution. We have looked at political philosophers like John Locke. We have examined the Declaration of Independence. We have unscrambled the Preamble and connected it to the weaknesses of the Articles … Continue reading →

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Didn’t you write a legal brief?

Posted on September 18, 2014 by jyourist

Maybe it was because I had just praised the whole class about how well they did on the last assignment, better than any class had done before. Maybe it was because the challenge was actually very engaging. Maybe it was … Continue reading →

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