October 1, 2006
Justice Teaching
The initiative will send volunteer judges and lawyers into classrooms
By Mark D. Killian
Managing Editor
Early next year, Chief Justice Fred Lewis wants to have legal professionals trained and ready to begin dispensing information about the fundamental principles of our democracy to Florida students — one school at a time.
Judges and Bar leaders from across the state gathered in Tampa last month to begin planning the implementation of Lewis’ Justice Teaching program, which he has described as the cornerstone of his two-year administration and has an ultimate goal of pairing a judge, lawyer, or other law-related professional with every elementary, middle, and high school in the state.
Lewis — who since joining the court in 1998 has regularly visited classrooms throughout Florida to talk with students of all ages about the courts and the Constitution — said the program aims to benefit the students by promoting an understanding of the justice system, develop critical thinking abilities and problem-solving skills, and demonstrate the effective interaction of the courts within the constitutional structure.
“Because you believe in our youth and you believe in our democracy, you are going to be the leaders in a program that is going to make a difference,” Chief Justice Lewis told the assembled group of Bar leaders and judges representing each of Florida’s 20 circuits and five appellate districts who make up the Select Committee on Justice Teaching. That group will be responsible for recruiting and coordinating the volunteers who will serve as resources available to the schools to help with classroom visits, teacher conferences, in-service training, and other law-related education needs. The committee also will work in partnership with court managers, superintendents, school districts, teachers, and administrators to promote the program.
“There are 78,000 lawyers in The Florida Bar and I don’t think one will say no to you,” Lewis told the judges. (Click here to Volunteer for Justice Teaching)
He also pledged to travel across the state with Annette Pitts, executive director of the Florida Law Related Education Association, to provide structured training and materials to local volunteers to ensure they are fully prepared to provide a meaningful educational experience for the students.
“We don’t want to tell them what to think; we want to help them to think,” Lewis said. “This is not a group that is going to try to tell anybody anything other than our fundamental democratic principles. We make a mistake if we end up sending somebody into a classroom that has an agenda. We are not going to have people using this as a resume builder. We want active, involved people.”
If successful, Lewis said, the program will correct misconceptions, explain the structure and function of the courts, reinforce the rule of law, and strengthen public trust and confidence in the justice system.
“If we do not have the trust and confidence of our people in our court system, it is no wonder that folks will attack a branch of government they do not trust anymore,” Lewis said. “If you don’t know anything about it, how can you trust it?”
Pitts said recent state and national surveys clearly demonstrate the need for greater civic education, with over half of all Americans unable to correctly identify the three branches of government.
“That should be evidence enough,” Pitts said.
Why judges and lawyers? Because, Pitts said, a recent U.S. Department of Justice study found when lawyers and judges are well trained to work with teachers to present civics education lessons, the student not only gains knowledge about how the government works, but also develops a more positive attitude about the courts.
“So now we are looking at another reason for you to be involved outside the fact that it is just important, but that you as lawyers and judges play a critical role — are a vital part of that equation — to make the attitude changes in students and help them understand the system,” Pitts said.
Over the years, Pitts said, many lawyers have told her they would like to talk to students about democracy, but don’t know how to do it.
“We will come to your circuits and do the training for you and show your volunteers how to do it effectively,” Pitts said. “The research also told us that if you don’t do it the right way, if you stand up and just tell war stories or do not put the methods into what we are going to teach, you could have a negative impact. It is critical to do it the right way.”
Pitts also said a study by Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting fair and impartial courts, found that as public knowledge of the courts increases, so too does support for the judicial branch.
“So there is a direct correlation between educating people appropriately and in a balanced way and talking to them about the courts and their support of the courts,” Pitts said. “Now we find that they may be your best supporters. In years to come, they will in fact understand the power of the courts and perhaps be the people who protect that power when it is threatened.”
Lewis said over the past few decades other subjects have taken precedence in the schools and less time is devoted to civic education and the mission of our democracy.
“We are in the era of high-stakes testing, and I don’t comment on that one way or the other,” Lewis said. “I do believe in accountability, but at the same time if it is not tested, the emphasis is not there.”
Saying the republic depends on an educated population, Lewis said lawyers and judges have an obligation “to our children” to promote the “structure of the democracy that our founders created.”
“We are not going to answer every problem of the world, but by golly we are going to go out there swinging, and we are going to make a difference,” the chief justice said. “But it can only happen through you. We can do our independent things and impact children in schools and education, but I do think the formalized, structural approach — proactive in nature — will make a difference and be operating on a continuing basis.”
(The November issue of The Florida Bar Journal will be devoted to Florida law-related education.)
[Revised:
08-01-2010
]