Tag Archives: Constitution

The battle is formally joined

Posted on August 20, 2020 by jyourist
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At the root, heart, character of this nation

Posted on July 9, 2016 by jyourist

Today is the anniversary of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, perhaps the most important amendment in our Constitution. This is the amendment that is used most frequently in civil rights litigation, including the most recent same sex marriage decision … Continue reading →

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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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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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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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Smoky into spring break

Posted on March 19, 2014 by jyourist

I smell pretty smoky, which usually makes me think of summer and night time fires and grilling, but today’s smokiness was caused by our annual burning of the Constitution tests which the students took in the fall. There is a … Continue reading →

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