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Summer Reading | |
Click here to read along with the Summer Institute Fellows
Click here to see what Madison Fellows are reading in their "spare" time |
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Share With Your Friends
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From the President, Lewis Larsen
I am very happy to announce the selection of 58 James Madison Fellows as a result of the 2012 competition. Click here for a complete listing of the selected Fellows. You may recognize a few names, since 50% of the winners were recommended by Fellows. Thank you for your support of these applicants.
I am also happy to announce the results of our 2012 development campaign, "Celebrating Twenty Years of Fellows Teaching the Constitution." Nearly $10,000 was raised from almost 200 Fellows. Your contributions will fund the fellowship of Michael Stevenson, the 2012 Junior Fellow from Missouri. Thank you for your generosity.
With the advent of summer, you may have opportunities for rest and renewal. During some of your "down time", I encourage you to investigate membership in one of the professional organizations (links to the left) and to make time for summer reading (links to the left.) I also hope that many of you will join us at the annual James Madison Symposium, held this year on Friday, July 6 and featuring Dr. Stuart Leibiger (click here for more details.)
Lastly, I want to share with you the results of our April Professional Development survey. The first of its kind for the Foundation, this survey confirms what we already knew: James Madison Fellows are a committed cohort of outstanding educators who embrace professional development and educational opportunities because of their deep commitment to student excellence. Over 300 Fellows shared comments with us, and I know you will enjoy reading both the summary tables as well as the individual responses. We are inspired by the achievements of these Fellows, and we hope you are, as well. |
Focus on the Fellows 
Mark Oglesby, '02 (MI)
I am a self-proclaimed Constitution geek! I read books on the Framers for pleasure, rewrite songs (Ice, Ice Baby became Rights, Rights Baby), and I even named my youngest daughter Madison. After applying multiple times, I received the James Madison Fellowship in 2002, and I earned my Masters from Eastern Michigan University. Since then, I have applied what I learned to my teaching; enjoyed some wonderful professional experiences; and received a few prestigious awards.
Through the Center for Civic Education's We the People... curriculum, I have increased my students knowledge, understanding and passion for the Constitution. I even have a Facebook group for my alumni so they can continue to engage in constitutional conversations with current students. I have trained teachers from around the country in the use of the We the People... materials.
I have taught Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics since 2004. I serve as a Reader and Table Leader for the exam, and I have also served on the College Board's test development committee. I will be presenting at the AP annual conference this summer.
In 2008, I travelled to the Czech Republic to work with educators who are teaching democracy and citizenship. I was also a finalist for the Michigan Teacher of the Year. In 2011, I received the American Civic Education Teacher Award and was also named the Michigan Civic Education Teacher of the Year.
The James Madison Fellowship has allowed me so many opportunities. I am thankful for it and I encourage teachers to apply for the Fellowship--it can be a life-changing experience.
Let us hear what you have been up to since receiving your Fellowship. Submit a brief article (150-200 words) along with a high-resolution photo to cgriffin@jamesmadison.com for possible inclusion in future newsletters. |
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Constitution Corner |
FROM THE ARCHIVES: CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN TOM 0'HARE, '00 (SC) AND JAMES MADISON (AKA, DR. HERMAN BELZ)
Dear Mr. Madison:
Be assured, sir, of my high esteem for your intellectual perspicuity, republican virtue, and dedication to country. With the benefit of hindsight denied you by events occurring after your lifetime, however, allow me to suggest that your failure to provide a right of secession in the U.S. Constitution was an egregious error. If, like the Athenians in forming the Delian league, you had prescribed means by which a member state could peaceably withdraw from the alliance, our country would have been spared the civil war caused by refusal to recognize the right of secession, with violence and hostility continuing unto the present generation. In the light of subsequent history, of which you are no doubt aware, have you perhaps had second thoughts on the matter?
With melancholy appreciation and respect,
Tom O'Hare
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Dear Mr. O'Hare:
I am pleased to respond to your polite reproof of me and my fellow delegates' decision not to write into the Constitution an express right on claim of which a state, with the unanimous consent of other members, could peaceably secede from the Union. May I recall to you that the purpose of the Federal Convention was to form a stronger union, not to make it easier for disgruntled states to set up on their own. States voluntarily sent delegates to the Convention, and those that did not in effect seceded by staying away. Our view was: better to let well enough alone and not ask for trouble by inserting into the text an express right of secession. Our purpose was to unite, not to divide the people. Should mutual recrimination and hostility at some future time dissolve national unity, the Constitution provided an amendment process through which unanimously consenting states could peaceably separate from each other. No doubt it would be difficult to secure unanimous consent, but such is the nature of political life.
In abiding appreciation of our constitutional republic,
James Madison, fourth President of the United States of America |
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Teaching Tips
Cory Vasek, '08 (NE)
Just 24 percent of high school seniors tested proficient on the latest NAEP Civics test. This statistic illustrates a shortfall in our educational system: preparing students to participate in a republic. Traditional teaching methods, such as lecture, leave students apathetic. A method gaining prominence is Student-Centered Learning. It addresses ways of preparing future citizens and includes some of the following principles: promoting active learning; developing autonomous learners; basing learning on involvement and participation; the teacher becoming a facilitator; and writing class constitutions. SCL is not only an important educational reform but also an effective way of improving citizenship.
This past year, I implemented a program to make my classes more student-centered. Strategies included: a problem-based learning unit; greater use of class discussions; and training peer mediators. Students became more autonomous; they exchanged more ideas; and they became better problem-solvers. They also wrote class constitutions which provided valuable procedures for classes to follow and enabled students to have more say in how the classroom was run. Yet another benefit was that writing a constitution provided students with valuable insights into our nation's Constitution, as well.
Do you have a favorite pedagogical approach for teaching about the Constitution? Submit a brief article (150-200 words) to cgriffin@jamesmadison.com for possible inclusion in future newsletters. |
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Opportunities
The Center for the Constitution offers a variety of professional development opportunities for teachers, including an on-line course on the Constitution.
Click here for information about receiving a free poster of George Washington for your classroom.
Let us know about professional opportunities that would be of interest to Fellows. We plan to include 3-4 timely notifications in each edition of the newsletter. Information can be sent to cgriffin@jamesmadison.com
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From the Foundation
The Foundation is happy to announce that Dr. Drew McCoy has been reappointed by President Obama to the Foundation Board, and that Dr. Pauline Maier has been appointed for a new five-year term.
The Foundation offices will be moving in mid-June to our new spaces in Alexandria. Staff emails will remain the same, but click here for detailed information about our new address and phone numbers.
Official Annual Reports are due on July 15 for all Fellows currently working on their degree and/or fulfilling their teaching obligations, and should be mailed to Anne Marie at the Foundation offices. If you are graduating this year, you also need to submit a certified transcript showing the awarding of your degree.
The Foundation would also welcome receiving informal reports from all completed Fellows, telling us abot your professional endeavors. Please send these informal updates to cgriffin@jamesmadison.com
© 2012 by James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. All rights reserved. |
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