Balkinization  

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Students weigh in on constitutional change

Sandy Levinson

I had the privilege of speaking in December to students at Medfield (Mass.) High School, who had been assigned my book as part of an extended unit on the Constitution. The unit culminated in a "constitutional convention" conducted by each of the three classes taught by Richard Desorgher, who had, I think tellingly, won an award for being Massachusetts' "teacher of the year" in the 1990s. I find the conclusions of the classes to be of great interest. I am enthusiastic about some of the conclusions, less so about others. But the point is that these students were able to ask first-rate questions about the operation of our constitutional system and to come to their own conclusions. They represent reasons to have hope about the future, especially if they can be encouraged to carry their "active citizenship" into the future rather than become turned off from politics. In any event, the proposals can be found at my "dedicated blog site" on Our Undemocratic Constitution, and they are very much worth pondering.

Comments:

Post a Comment

Older Posts
Newer Posts
Home