Ind. honors Constitution Day

More than 100 students from high schools throughout Indiana will sign a replica of the U.S. Constitution as part of an interactive learning program sponsored by the Indiana Supreme Court and U.S. District Court.

Now in its fourth year, this Indiana tradition is part of Public Law 108-477 that states any school that receives federal funds for a fiscal year must hold an educational program about the Constitution on Sept. 17 to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

The high schools are selected based on who responds to a mass e-mail about the event, said Dr. Elizabeth Osborn, assistant to the chief justice for court history and public education.

“We have a list server with about 1,000 teachers on it,” Osborn said. “We send out an e-mail and it’s essentially first come, first serve.”

The students consist mainly of juniors and seniors who begin the lesson by reading the preamble, Osborn said.

“We try to limit it to juniors and seniors because they’re in U.S. government classes,” Osborn said.

Each year, the Indiana Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court bring in guest speakers to talk about how the Constitution affects each of them in both their business and personal life.

This year, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and Federal Magistrate Tim Baker will speak to the Indiana students.

The students also do a Constitution treasure hunt activity where the students break up into small groups with the guest speakers and compare the U.S. Constitution to the Indiana Constitution, Osborn said.

“They’re divided into small groups and they’ll get a small pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana Constitution,” Osborn said. “Then we’ll give them a topic like education and they have to compare what the U.S. Constitution says compared to the Indiana Constitution.”

The treasure hunt activity is streamed live on the Indiana Supreme Courts Web site along with the materials for teacher use, Osborn said.

Ultimately, the treasure hunt activity and the signing of the U.S. Constitution are ways to help students realize that the Constitution has a significant impact on everyone’s life, Osborn said.

“Speakers talk about why they should know about the Constitution because it impacts you every day of your life whether you realize it or not,” Osborn said.