Week 15 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! As of clicking "Publish", I am headed to the gym for a "12 Days of Christmas" WOD and then home for a needed break. A special thanks to those of you who offered gifts - a very kind and thoughtful gesture. I have many ornaments and decorations at home that carry the signature of these little rewards of teaching, though the "consumable" gifts are appreciated all the same :)

Our week was spent debating the key issues that arose out of the Convention in Philadelphia as our Founding Fathers drafted the new Constitution for the new nation. Please ask your son/daughter about our debates in class. For a recap, what we did was research one of the delegates to assume their identity as a contributing member of the debates that fateful Summer in 1787. I prepared lessons where we unpacked a key issue in the form of a question:

1. How should States be represented in the new government?
2. How should slaves be counted?
3. How should the Chief Executive be elected?

These questions were debated using some of the same arguments used by Madison (VA), Hamilton (NY), Sherman (CT), Gerry (MA), Wilson (PA), and others. When in doubt, or for guidance, we leaned on Madison's own notes from the convention. As you ask your son/daughter about OUR version of the debates, feel free to reference the "official" minutes of our proceedings. Once we came to a conclusion, we compared and contrasted our results to the real delegates. Some times we were real close, and other times, we were way off. Of course, it's not right to compare, but it involved us in the process to think critically about why the compromises fell as they did, both for better and for worse.

Finally, we completed our unit on Creating and Debating the Constitution. We wrapped that up today as we participated in an interactive quiz/test using Plickers. I asked them some tough questions and they got to see immediate feedback and immediate reflection on their answers.

As we look forward to the new year, we are going to begin January with a critical look at the Bill of Rights by probing the question that emerged from an article I shared with all students and now you as well. The question challenges us to assess our deeply-held views in the Bill of Rights, primarily freedom of religion. We must consider what is required of us as citizens if we expect to uphold the freedoms and liberties we hold so dear. The question is this: "Did the Founding Fathers envision/discuss the possibility of a Muslim president?"

I am looking forward to this lesson because I wonder about the contemporary challenge facing our nation as we become increasingly antagonistic toward a worldview, belief system, and civic order that we resist understanding. Please take time during these next few weeks and read the article together, keeping an open mind to what I challenged above. This is not required, but may provide for a richer experience in the classroom.

In the meantime, I wish you and your family a Very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! As well as a Happy New Year.

If we don't bump into each other until then, I remain yours,
Mr. Bruce

5th Hour Delegates from the various states meeting and
greeting as we open the Philadelphia Convention.

Week 14 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

We can begin counting on one hand the number of days left before a needed two-week break for one of the best times of the year - CHRISTMAS! I am looking forward to time with family, working on a few small projects, but most of all the celebration of the meaning of the holiday.

This week in class we finished some really awesome online timelines. Monday and Tuesday were devoted to the completion of a project that covered the bulk of all conversations that led to and through the creation of the Constitution. I explained more about this project in last week's email and asked that if you wanted to know more that you visit the Creating the Constitution page on the class website. These turned out really awesome and was a great use of a very neat web tool (though, some did not finish...). Please ask your students to see them!

Before we left the computer lab all students in each class selected (or was assigned) one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. According to the instructions on the Debating the Constitution page on the class website, we researched our chosen delegate with the intent of taking his place as we debate the merits of our Constitution the way they did 228 years ago. Over the weekend, you would to well to ask your student about their delegate. Particularly, you could ask:

• How do you feel about a strong national (central) government?
• What are your thoughts about how States should be represented in Congress?
• What are your beliefs about whether or not southern states should be allowed to count slaves as part of the overall population?
• How should the chief executive be elected?

These questions and more will be decided next week in class debates. I am considering recording some debates that I know will be "hot" and so if there is any opposition, please inform me via email. The intent is to have something to share for next year as a standard of expectation, but also to give you all a window into the classroom. 

Next week is devoted to concluding debates on the key issues from the Constitutional Convention. It will allow for a nice break before we come back in January to complete a short lesson on the ratification of this document by the people in State Conventions. 

Until then, I am yours,

Mr. Bruce

Week 13 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

I am sitting in the computer lab watching your kid work to complete a very cool timeline. It is so awesome how they take to new tools for creating and curating content as they learn. We finished this week leaving this project unfinished. I don't like doing that, but I apparently overloaded them with their "Creating the Constitution" project. Take a look at the Creating the Constitution page for details. Monday and Tuesday I hope to finish this project and usher in a new one, which I'll explain below.

Looking back at what we have done this week, it began with a video from PBS that explored the concept of federalism. We hear this word, or at least its commonly used relative, very frequently when we refer to our "federal" government. However, too few of us really understand the system that divides, separates, and distinguishes our federal system. We explored the typical and often used definition of federalism as a system of shared (or divided) power between a central government and several sub-units of government. If you were a good student, you would remember that from school. But our American system of federalism is little different in that it doesn't allow for a clear division of power or authority or explicitly define what or how much is shared. The result is a muddy debate or conflict between the States and the National Government that has shifted and twisted over the 227 years since the Constitution was written. This video did a great job connecting the views and desires of the Founding Fathers with the debate that still goes on today. I encourage you to view that this weekend.

This led to the transition and prep timeline project of "Creating the Constitution". It will set us up to debate the Constitution in a simulated format. The classroom will transform into the East Room of the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall). I may be asking your students to bring in things to help decorate this room to fit the mood such as candles, green cloth/sheets, etc. (see images below). We need to start by taking on the identity of one of the delegates and study his background and understand his views on the issues faced at the convention. Then we will debate the issues according to the delegates' historic positions and attitudes. As we debate, we will learn how compromise filled the air and how the Constitution we know today was formed by this group of extraordinary men we know today as the Founding Fathers.

Until then,
Mr. Bruce