Parent's Constitution

 Recently I performed a warm-up activity with a group of students as an anticipatory set for a new unit that we were beginning on the Bill of Rights.  To begin the lesson we had a brief discussion about the previous unit on the Constitution, it's ratification and some of the difficulties in it's ratification. In particular, while most delegates agreed with what had been created, many where still unwilling to sign and ratify the Constitution because it lacked any wordage that protected citizen rights and freedoms-A Bill of Rights.  These hold outs only agreed to sign after it was agreed that a Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments were added to the Constitution.

I began the lesson by giving the students a handout called the Parent's Constitution:

Parents’ Constitution:

We, the Parents of the United States, in order to form more perfect Families, raise obedient

Children, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for our children’s Defense, promote the general

Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Children, do ordain

and establish this Parents’ Constitution for the United States of America.

I. Parents shall have the power to command complete respect from their children.

II. Parents shall have the power to assign chores to their children.

III. Parents shall have the power to promote family togetherness even if this power

interferes with their children’s social lives.

IV. Parents shall have the power to ask their children questions and to expect honest

answers.

V. Parents shall have the power to make all decisions about family spending, including

the power to restrict children’s spending on unproductive or harmful items.

VI. Parents shall have the power to decide how much time their children’s friends can spend

with their children. (New Haven Unified School District in Union City, California.) 

We read the document as a class then I had the kids pair up and respond to questions regarding the Parent's Constitution.

1. Do you believe that parents should have all of the powers described in the Parents’

Constitution? Why or why not?

2. List four rights that you would add as amendments to the Parents’ Constitution to make it

fairer for children and protect them from the power of parents.

3. What parallels can you draw between how you feel about the Parents’ Constitution and

concerns some people might have felt about the U.S. Constitution when it was first ratified

in 1789?

We then came back together as a class and I had students share their responses with the rest of the class.  With each response I would let the pair speak but then would focus their response on question 3. The objective was to have them make connections between how they feel about the Parents Constitution is how many likely felt about our Constitution before the Bill of Rights was included.

Most students agreed that while the Parent's Constitution seemed well intended it was very restrictive to them, not allowing them any input and didn't take into account any of their wants.

From this the discussion naturally turned to the same thing regarding our Constitution in that it basically did the same thing in not taking account individual freedoms, protections and wants.

I feel the lesson went well and students were able to make the intended connection.  I would make a couple changes/additions to this lesson however.  Much of the vocabulary in the constitution is difficult for students and the preamble, which is included in the parent's constitution is a little difficult for students to fully comprehend.  As a preparation for our new unit and the above warm-up, I would have the students 1)Define important vocabulary terms and 2)Have students write the Preamble in their own words as homework the night before.  These I believe would address some of the issues many had with the lesson and it would flow much more smoothly.