BRI Teacher Council Member Prepares Tomorrow’s Leaders

<p><em>By Marla James</em></p>

<p>I am incredibly honored and excited to work with the Bill of Rights Institute on the 2022-2023 Teacher Council. I regularly use materials and lessons from BRI in my AP U.S. Government and Politics class, and those are very well-developed and engaging for the students. BRI has an impeccable reputation as a provider of classroom resources.</p>

<p>In fact, three of its publications were particularly helpful in my early teaching career when I launched a new AP U.S. Government and Politics course at Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, N.J.</p>

<p>Having previously taught current events and civics courses, AP U.S. Government was new to me in 2007 and I aggressively sought materials that would provide active learning for the students. BRI’s documents&nbsp;<em>Supreme Court DBQs: Exploring the Cases that Changed History</em>,&nbsp;<em>The Bill of Rights and You: Rights and Responsibilities</em>, and&nbsp;<em>Media and American Democracy</em>&nbsp;were tremendous assets to my early teaching and I still use those today.</p>

<p>The Supreme Court DBQs offer an engaging opportunity for students to learn about and develop a deep understanding of the SCOTUS cases that most significantly shaped our country and its legal system. The structure of this valuable BRI resource, like so many of its other materials, encourages students to think independently and forge their own conclusions about how justly a case was decided.</p>

<p>The option to use paper or digital copies of materials provides students and teachers with choices in how the content is represented. Additionally, BRI videos and interactive lessons suit the needs of students with various learning preferences. The lessons also provide scaffolding suggestions to adjust the materials to varying levels of rigor and lesson extensions that involve project-based learning.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;<em>Rights and Responsibilities&nbsp;</em>document enhances my teaching through authentic learning. Students make connections between their own lives and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.&nbsp;<em>Media and American Democracy</em> helped my lesson planning across curricula as a superior resource for AP U.S. Government and Journalism.</p>

<p>BRI impacted my teaching by providing easily accessible primary and secondary resources and flexible, malleable lessons with firm, clearly articulated curriculum goals. Moreover, BRI materials augment content delivery by suggesting specific methodologies and adaptations for certain teaching situations.</p>

<p>The BRI digital and paper resources broadened my knowledge as well as that of my students. Being a member of the BRI National Teacher Council is also a learning opportunity and a chance to collaborate with teachers from around the country to promote the teaching of our nation’s history and government.</p>

<p>Civics, whether AP U.S. Government, current events, or another offering, is essential to the community-minded development of our youth. It is crucial for our students to evolve into engaged, contributing members of their communities who believe they can affect change.</p>

<p>Generation Z students will shape our government and humanity in future years. Whatever careers they choose, they will all be members of society, so it is essential we inspire students and teach them agency to make their voices heard and impact the future in a manner that aligns with the principles of liberty and freedom.</p>

<p><em>Marla James teaches AP U.S. Government and Politics at Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, NJ, and is a member of the Bill of Rights Institute National Teacher Council.</em></p>