Is That A Right? (Repost)

March 17, 2022June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Don’t get excited – I’m not diving into current events or anything. (I’m far too demure for such things.) In fact, I’m intentionally avoiding the subject at the moment because any effort I make to write rationally about what we’ve become ends up as a spittle-spewing, obscenity-laden rant and, worse, totally off-brand. Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook, where I’ve lost even the veneer of professionalism or decency towards my fellow man, can no doubt verify this assertion.

Instead, I’d like to share two very simple things you may find useful. Or, you may not. You may find yourself a little bit sad for me if these are my best new cutting-edge distance learning ideas at the moment. Either way, I’m giddy enough for both of us.

“Is That A Right?” is the name of an activity I’ve done with American Government and American History classes for years, and which I’m considering trying “virtually” this fall if circumstances lead us down that path.

It’s not even an overly innovative lesson. It’s really just a PowerPoint presentation with a series of descriptions of potential “rights” as per the U.S. Constitution. Students vote ‘Yes’ if they believe whatever’s on the slide is a protected right and ‘No’ if they don’t, and we discuss it a bit (“Tasha, why do you think so?” or “So, Garrett… would you still say that’s a right if we change the wording to what Tasha said?” You guys know how discussions work.) The next slide tells us the “right” answer, often with disclaimers about how it’s actually a bit more complicated than that – because it’s almost always a bit more complicated than that. Then we go to the next one.

I recently converted the most recent version of this presentation into Google Slides. You can access it in its entirety right here. If it’s something you’d like to use, all you have to do is make a copy (File, Make a Copy…) and it’s yours. Once you’ve copied it, you can change prompts, explanations, images, etc., just like with PowerPoint.

So how could we do this if we’re not in the same place?

I’ve had the privilege of co-teaching several workshops with an amazing history teacher from the Houston area named Barrett Doke. He’s one of those guys that loves technology, but always as a tool for putting more of the learning into the hands of the students and never as an end in and of itself. We all say that’s how we want to use technology – but he actually does it that way. (Now, the rest of you don’t get all defensive – I’m sure MANY of you are just as wonderful. I’m just sharing my personal warm fuzzies.)

Doke is partial to Google Slides and gets rather… enthusiastic when given the chance to share the many simple things you can do with them to make your lessons more flexible and your technology more useful without investing endless hours or – and this is a biggie – relying on your district to purchase and maintain subscriptions to specific apps or equipment. He showed me something he liked to do in Slides that would never have occurred to me. (As I said at the outset, it’s entirely possible this is obvious to everyone else in the world besides me. I can live with that.)

If you adjust the ‘View/Zoom’ for your slideshow while NOT in ‘Presentation’ mode, you’ll discover there’s all sorts of unused space around each slide. You may have stumbled across this in the past when moving around graphics or setting up animation. As it turns out, you can put stuff in these margins and it will be saved and accessible along with everything else, even though it’s not part of the slide.

I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Doke often uses this space for what I think of as ‘tokens’ which students can access. These can be numbered or customized to include their names (although the tokens have to be slightly larger that way). Whether they’re all in class together or meeting virtually (but synchronously), he’ll pose a question or prompt and offer the same sorts of options you’d see with multiple choice. Students move their tokens to the part of the slide which best reflects their response, then Doke calls on a few to explain why they chose what they did. Because they’re all on the same document, everyone sees what everyone else is answering – just like in class.

Yes, this is very similar to what Pear Deck does. I’ve not used Pear Deck extensively, but I hear great things. It might actually do this particular type of activity a bit better. I don’t have it, however, so it’s not a factor.

Here’s the long distance version of the same activity. I’ve used it with teachers successfully, but haven’t yet had the chance to do it this way with students. You’ll have to make your own copy (File, Make a Copy…) if you’d like to use it.

I like several things about this lesson in this format:

The discussions are still the discussions. They’re the key to the lesson being meaningful and the information sticky. Without good discussions, it’s just another quiz.

Anytime you can have synchronous (i.e., “live”) student responses in a form other than asking them to speak up in class, you change the dynamics and who’s likely to participate. That’s not to say it magically guarantees full engagement, but students who may not take initiative in class will often drag their token to the answer they like best.

If you have particularly shy or fragile students, the alpha-numeric system allows a degree of anonymity. One of my priorities is usually creating a dynamic in which everyone learns to speak up, and in which disagreement is healthy and means you respect the other person enough to challenge them, so anonymity is not a priority to me. Plus, it’s difficult to have discussions, even online, anonymously.

Finally, the slideshow is easily shared with students. It’s forever available should they choose to review anything or question anything after having time to think about it.

There are, of course, several downsides:

It’s tricky to keep track of who’s who on Slides. On Google Docs or Google Sheets, students logged in to their school Gmail show up on my screen as a cursor with their name next to it. I can also check version histories and edits in case there are shenanigans. I’m not sure Slides has a similar feature, and even if it does, it won’t help you if your students don’t have school Gmail accounts. That means in theory, anyone can move any number. (Then again, is there ANYTHING in class – virtual or otherwise – that’s completely bozo-proof?)

In order for students to have access to move their tokens around, I have to give them access to ‘Edit’ the Slideshow. That means in theory, they can add or delete slides or change other elements of the activity. I’ve made messing with the slides (accidentally or otherwise) a bit more difficult by ‘locking in’ everything except the tokens themselves. If you’ve made your own copy of the “Long Distance” version of the activity, you may have noticed that while you can move the tokens around, you can’t move around shapes or text on the slides like you normally could. It’s still possible – for you or anyone with ‘Edit’ access – but it’s more laborious and would require both knowledge and focused intent. This is thanks to another cool thing Doke showed me that is gradually changing my online instructional world. (Again, keep in mind that I’m nearly a thousand years old and still both startled and impressed by things like lava lamps or instant music downloads.)

If anyone’s interested, I’ll try to talk about ‘locking in’ elements of various slides next time. I’m learning to get better at doing it, but I’m not yet adept at explaining it. For now, you’re welcome to play with “Is That A Right?” and let me know how it works out. Keep in mind that you’ll have to make your own copy before it will let you edit anything or even move those little tokens around. Obviously, once you’ve made your own copy, you can add far more antagonistic, current event-related slides of your own and blame it on that guy who posted it on the internet to begin with.

You absolutey have that right.

RELATED POST: Those Circle Things

RELATED POST: Causes, Triggers, Events, and Results

RELATED PAGE: Classroom Resources

What’s Your Name? (This Year’s First ‘Virtual’ Assignment)

August 5, 2020June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

What’s In A Name?

In Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Juliet laments that she cannot be with Romeo largely because of their last names. Their families are enemies and neither would ever accept the other into their homes. Standing on her balcony, unaware that he’s listening, she rejects the idea that names could be so important. Why should it matter what you’re called if you’re as awesome as Romeo – at least in Juliet’s eyes?

Still, sometimes our names do matter. It varies from century to century, family to family, and culture to culture, but sometimes your name means more than others might realize. Maybe it was given to you for a specific reason, or maybe it’s influenced how people react to you or what they assume about you. If nothing else, it usually (but not always) reflects the family into which you were born. Sometimes a major religious conversion prompts a name change. Many women still take the name of their husbands when they marry. Best friends sometimes have nicknames for each other which only they use. Couples often call one another by names that no one outside the couple can use without causing problems.

Or maybe your name is just a name and its meaning is only what you give it by being you. That’s OK, too.

The Importance of Communication

One of the primary goals of any English class is to improve our communication skills. While there are an endless number of ways humans communicate with one another, two of the most important and most universal are (a) speaking and (b) writing. We’re going to work on both this semester.

Please note that it’s never my goal to embarrass you or put you on the spot or push you to share anything you don’t wish to share. If you don’t want to say it or write it, then DON’T. I won’t be fact-checking you on anything unless there’s some specific reason I should. Our goal is to get better at communicating our own thoughts and ideas and understanding the thoughts and ideas of others. What your thoughts and ideas ARE is your business. Share them or not as you choose.

The Name Video Assignment (Due ____________)

You’re going to make a brief video (60 – 90 seconds) talking about your name and share it with me by uploading it to Student ‘Name’ Videos {linklinklink}. Your video can be as simple or as involved as you like, as long as it meets a few basic guidelines.

1) Your video should be at least 60 seconds but no longer than 90 seconds.

2) It should begin with you introducing yourself with your full name.

3) For the rest of your brief introductory video, talk about your name or some part of your name – were you named after someone? Does one or more of your names have a particular meaning? Is your name common? Rare? Often misunderstood? How does your name reflect you and/or how has having this name shaped your life a little bit? (You don’t have to cover all of this. These are just starting places and ideas. Talk about whatever you wish in conjunction with your name.)

Click Here For My Sample ‘Name Video’

The Technical Stuff (How To Make It Work)

Use Chromebooks or phones or whatever you wish.

If you’re unsure how to record video on your Chromebook, there are a few quick ‘How To’ guides posted along with this assignment on Google Classroom.

If you’re not sure how to upload your video, click the link for Student ‘Name’ Videos {linklinklink}. Then choose the ‘+ New’ near the top left of the screen, and ‘File Upload’.

If for some reason you can’t upload your video using these instructions (for example, you don’t have a working Chromebook and you’re doing all of this on another device or something), try sharing it with me some other way – email a link, etc. MAKE SURE YOU LET ME KNOW, however, so I don’t miss it and think you simply didn’t do it.

Email me with questions or problems – {email address}

This, pretty much, is my opening day assignment this year. The links will be different (the only one that actually works here is to the sample ‘name video’ – and even that will look different for students), but otherwise, this is how we’re starting off.

I borrowed this lesson from Barrett Doke, who teaches 8th Grade American History in the Houston area. We taught a series of virtual workshops together this summer, and I loved his approach to technology in the classroom, even when ‘in person’ school was still a thing back in the day. He’s done it successfully for years, although I’ve dressed it up a bit differently (anything you don’t like is probably me).

Why This?

Some of my motivation I covered in the actual directions. I won’t see my kids in person for at least nine weeks, and that’s going to make it difficult to form that there ‘rapport’ we always talk about. And honestly, while my pedagogy is fine, my strength has always been the face-to-face. Obviously, that’s out for a while.

I also believe the part about communication being an essential skill and all that. In fact, the second assignment is a short personal essay which builds on the “let’s talk about YOU” idea. Yes, it’s partly about trying to establish connection, but the ability to talk about ourselves coherently is an essential academic and professional skill. (You won’t get through many college admissions officers or job interviews if you can’t handle “so tell me about yourself a bit” decently.)

On a related front, if much of this year is going to be done long-distance, we’d better start getting comfortable using the technology – both students and teachers. If I’m going to ask them to eventually submit video summaries of what they’ve read or otherwise express themselves using this format, we’d better practice it with something easy first.

Finally, there’s an additional, somewhat awkward motivation as well. I’m an old white guy whose hearing isn’t what it used to be. I genuinely want to learn my students’ names and say them correctly, but there are more each year that I never seem to quite get comfortable with. At the same time, it feels more important than ever that I demonstrate at least that much attention and respect to those whose names are most likely to give me trouble. With this assigment, I’ll have a reference as often as I need it to exactly how they want their name pronounced – because they’re the ones saying it.

These instructions clearly take an ELA approach, but that’s not essential. When I taught American history we’d always discuss the power of names, usually in relation to slaves and slave-owners. I’m not even sure you’d need a justification for it if you’re interested. It’s your class, and you have to start somewhere.

If you want to give it a shot, all I ask is that you NOT use my sample “name video” or Barrett’s. Obviously you’d want to make your own anyway, right? Also, I’d love to hear how it goes – seriously.

Here are my instructions (pretty much the same as the first half of this post) as a Google Doc if you’d rather edit them than start from scratch. You’re also welcome to the follow up personal essay instructions. I should probably note that while I’m definitely using these this year, I haven’t yet. I honestly have no idea how it will go.

But then, that’s often the case – even with things I’ve used for years. We wouldn’t want it to get too easy or boring, would we?

RELATED POST: Those Circle Things

RELATED POST: Is That A Right?

RELATED PAGE: Classroom Resources

Causes, Triggers, Events, and Results

May 1, 2020June 15, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

This is something I lifted from Rhonda Johnson who used to teach with me in Tulsa. Rhonda is one of the most entertaining and intellectually challenging people I’ve ever known, and I appreciate her agreeing to let me sponge off of her in this way.

Then again, why should this be any different than anything else I’ve borrowed from her over the years?

The “Cause & Effect” Conundrum

It’s not unusual to see history presented in terms of “cause and effect.” It’s a rational, if simplified, method of trying to pull events together and understand the connections and interactions that make it all meaningful. Without cause and effect, history could only be taught as a series of unconnected events – this happened, then that happened, then another thing happened, and probably some other things, until today… so make of this what you will.

While there are those who capitalize off of accusations that teachers are somehow manipulating and abusing students by not presenting history in a completely random, meaningless, way, the reality is that none of us can cover in exacting detail everything that’s ever happened anywhere in the world over the past 10,000 years or more in 180-or-so class periods. Some degree of subjective triage is essential, and “cause/effect” is a useful part of that.

Causes, Triggers, Events, and Results (CTER)

The anchors of the whole “CTER” approach are whatever major historical events you choose to prioritize in class. Surely we can all agree that some stuff that’s happened over time is more important than other stuff (at least for educational purposes). While no one wants to shortchange Coleman Sellers’ patenting of the Kinemascope in 1861 (allowing the illusion of motion when exhibiting stereoscopic pictures and eventually leading to what we today call “movies”), most biased, brainwashing history teachers set that aside in favor of discussing the secession of the South and the onset of the American Civil War.

The Civil War, then, was an “Event.”

Like most Events, the war had multiple Causes. Causes are generally ongoing – they can be in place for days, weeks, months, or years without the event actually happening. Debates over slavery, sectionalism, tariff disputes, cultural differences, vocal antagonists on both sides – these were all Causes of the Civil War.

Events also have Results. Like Causes, Results can be short-term or long-term, and sometimes interact in unexpected ways. Reconstruction, the end of slavery, three new constitutional amendments, nearly a million dead Americans, a dramatic increase in the power of the federal government – these were all Results.

Just to keep things interesting, the Results of one Event easily become Causes for the next. (History’s wacky that way.)

The new wrinkle (for me) was Rhonda’s concept of the “Trigger.” While Causes may occur for an extended time without an Event actually beginning, Triggers convert all of that potential into action. They strike the match that ignites the fuel and timber. Without the Trigger, Causes might continue or eventually fade, but the Event wouldn’t occur – at least not when it did and how it did.

I’d argue that the firing on Ft. Sumter was the Trigger for the Civil War, because until people are shooting at each other, all we have is conflict and tension. You could reasonably make a case that the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was the Trigger, or the secession of the southern states – and I could live with that.

So, yeah – Triggers can prove a bit subjective and some stuff happens without them, but I’ve found it to be quite useful in helping students organize the general flow of events in any history class.

CTER: An Easy Example

The American colonies had been restless for decades regarding British rule. Enlightenment ideals shaped the thinking of their most accomplished citizens. They enjoyed the benefits of “salutary neglect.” It was difficult for an island so far away to effectively rule a continent. Then came more specific antagonisms – the Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, etc. Individuals and small groups begin pushing back more forcefully – the Boston Tea Party, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” and so on. These were all Causes of the American Revolution.

But every one of them occurred without a revolution starting – at least not in the violent “you’re not my mommy anymore!” sense. Some had been going on for years and may have continued for many more.

Then came Lexington & Concord – the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” At this point, those causes were suddenly activated, lit on fire, and exploded into the Event. The American Revolution began and lasted nearly a decade. (It was a pretty big deal, so it’s an “Event.”)

Many things after the Revolutionary War weren’t the same as they had been before. The colonies were now independent and resented Great Britain for generations afterwards. They called themselves the United States of America and wrote a constitution called the “Articles of Confederation.” George Washington was forever after known as the “Father of Our Country.” 40,000+ men who’d been alive before the war were dead. Because war is expensive, there was also debt. Debt meant new taxes, and since not everyone felt equally represented in the new government, there were some who objected to this new taxation without—

Well, you get the idea. Some of the results of the American Revolutionary War became Causes of the next major event – replacing the Articles of Confederation with the U.S. Constitution to which was quickly added a “Bill of Rights.” The process continues through Manifest Destiny, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, a few world wars, the 1960s, grunge, and Donald Trump somehow getting elected President. One way or the other, it all connects and more-or-less flows together.

Using CTER In Class

There are two ways I like to use CTER in class. The first is as an introduction or overview for major events or eras. Students are given a CTER graphic organizer for one or two events from the upcoming unit. As we move through the unit, they use their CTER organizers to keep new information coherently tied together. (If you choose, however, you could just as easily use them as unit summaries or quizzes.) CTERs don’t require deep analysis, but they do require a “big picture” understanding of main events and why stuff happened the way it did – and that ain’t nothin’.

The second way I love to use CTER is as end-of-semester review. Students work in small groups and each group is given a stack of index cards. On each card is written a Cause, Trigger, Event, or Result. (I never label them as such, but Causes are all one color, Triggers are all another color, etc. Whether or not I share this system with students depends on the group.) Groups are assigned to place the Events in chronological order and to identify the Causes, Trigger, and Results of each event.

The activity requires factual recall, but also a degree of ongoing analysis and understanding of how things connect. There are few things which promote retention and understanding more than impromptu debates over whether a card makes more sense as a Result of this Event or a Cause of that one, or whether such-and-such was truly the Trigger or just another Cause. Sometimes students organize things differently than I would have; if they can justify it, that’s fine.

The specifics of the activity vary with the needs of the moment. Sometimes I end up dropping hints to keep groups from getting overly frustrated. Other times, I’ll allow students to use their textbooks or technology to look stuff up as they go. Most of you are educators – you know how this stuff works. It’s also easy to simplify the activity for some classes or make it a bit more challenging for others.

We wrap up by walking around and seeing what other groups did, then discussing. You can even hand them cards and assign a new Event or two to create their own for later review. Once you’ve established the concept, it’s infinitely flexible.

The attachments below represent all sorts of variations of this particular activity. Most are primarily American History, but some are from World. You can use them “as is” or modify them to fit your needs. If you really go to town with the idea, you can do right by the rest of us by sharing whatever you create with me and I’ll add it here.

Intro to CTER (Presentation) – Google Slides

Sample CTER Events w/ Causes, Triggers, and Results (for Teachers) – Google Document

CTER Individual Practice GO – PDF

CTER Two Events Generic – PDF

CTER Protestant Reformation – Columbus 1492 – PDF

CTER Sample – American Revolution (Completed) – PDF

CTER Fr-In War – Declaring Independence (w Key) – PDF

CTER Am Rev (basic) – PDF

CTER Am Rev – Fr Rev – PDF

CTER Key – 4 Early 19th Century Events – Google Slides

CTER Civil War – Reconstruction (w Other Stuff) – PDF

CTER World War I – PDF

CTER WWI Assignment (w/ Other Stuff) – Google Slides

CTER Bolshevik Revolution – PDF

CTER Great Depression (basic) – PDF

CTER Recap of Late 19th Century / CTER Assignment: Great Depression – Google Slides

CTER Great Depression – WWII – PDF

Those Circle Things

April 25, 2020June 16, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 1 Comment

Sometimes it’s the simplest ideas that end up being the most useful.

Several years ago I co-presented a workshop with an amazing woman named Ayn Grubb. While I pride myself on getting along with other consultants or trainers or whatever they happen to be called that week, I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that there are really only a handful I genuinely admire and for whom I maintain an irrepressible teacher-crush. Ayn is one of that handful. Her style is quite different than mine, but she works a room of educators like Yo-Yo Ma works a bow or a hibachi chef works a seafood combo for eight.

At one point, she went up to the white board at the front of the room and drew the simplest little thing – a circle divided into four quadrants. In each quadrant, she wrote a single word. (I don’t even remember what the topic was; I was too busy having a life-changing experience.) She asked us which one didn’t belong and why, then gave us time to discuss.

I immediately stole the idea and never looked back. I have no idea if she lifted it from somewhere else or came up with it herself. I’m sure it would never occur to her to take credit either way. And, to be fair, the underlying idea does sorta go way back…

I started using variations of what I’ve come to simply think of as “Those Circle Things” in workshops, in class, and sometimes just to annoy friends at parties. They make great bell-ringers, discussion-starters, and I’ve even used them as informal assessments.

They’re also pretty easy to use with Google Slides or Pear Deck or whatever technological platform makes you tingle, and work equally well for synchronous or asynchronous discussion. They’re especially useful when you need ideas for “e-learning” on snow days, or when something else you had planned completely falls apart at the last minute.

Whatever the context, I always begin with something non-threatening and not content-based. Since I’m a sucker for superheroes, here’s one I used for many years:

What do these four things have in common? Which one doesn’t fit, and why?

The first few times I use something like this, whether with students or teachers, we’re establishing norms or procedures or classroom dynamics – whatever you call it in your world. See, we don’t actually CARE about these four characters, at least academically. What we care about is the process and the approach.

At the risk of preaching to the pedagogical choir, I’ll be annoyingly specific about what I mean.

We’re learning a new skill with non-threatening content (and usually learn new content with familiar skills).
The first few slides shouldn’t require much in the way of specialized content knowledge in order to participate. Anyone can come up with a few things even if they’re not particularly deep. This should be encouraged.
As it becomes clear that some of us know more about the topic than others, this should be celebrated. It demonstrates that we all have different backgrounds and bring different insights to the discussion. If I know more about Luke Cage than you do, that’s not because I’m “smart” or you’re “stupid.” One’s depth of knowledge regarding Luke Cage is not actually how we evaluate one’s usefulness or potential as a human being these days (although we’ve all endured worse metrics, I’m sure).
It’s better to be “wrong” than to be afraid. If someone suggests that three of the characters have superpowers and one (Agent Carter) doesn’t, others might disagree and argue that Green Arrow is really just a guy with money and toys who exercises. As a result of this discussion, however, we may end up exploring how we’re using terms like “super” or “hero” or “abilities” in useful, enlightening ways. If the person who was “wrong” about Green Arrow hadn’t floated his or her idea to begin with, we might never have gotten there, and that would be sad.
As with many classroom discussions, it’s important to find ways to be inclusive. The most basic is to encourage students or participants to ponder each slide in small groups for a few minutes before we talk about them as a whole. This allows individuals to bounce ideas off of one another, resolve minor errors, and learn from one another before “speaking up” and taking what often feels like a greater risk before the entire group.
When we’re learning a new skill or procedure, the process is more important than the content. We’re modeling academic courtesy and discussion, learning to take risks with information about which we may be uncertain, and practicing the sort of listening to one another and civil disagreement which is often essential for real learning to occur.

Let’s try another one. Keep in mind we want to discuss ways they’re all the same as well as identify which one doesn’t fit, and why: (And yes, I should update this example before using these again.)

You probably figured out pretty quickly that there’s usually more than one solution to which one doesn’t fit and why. These aren’t multiple choice questions with one objectively “correct” answer. It’s the process of examining each item in comparison with the others that forces us to review what we already know, reinforces the information we use to argue whatever point we choose to make as a result, stretches our understanding of each item a bit, and lays the groundwork for actual analysis and argument should we eventually go there.

It’s a critical thinking thing. It just doesn’t look like it right away because… Twilight.

Once the idea is established, these can be used in endless iterations depending on your needs and goals and the depth of knowledge expected of your students. If you’re using them to introduce a topic, their existing content knowledge may be less important. If you’re using them as an informal assessment, on the other hand…

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites in recent years. Some are a bit more complex than others based on the classes I had at the time. You’ll notice that sometimes the visuals are related to the text and sometimes they’re not – an inconsistency I should eventually address. I can tell you from experience you’ll want to clarify up front whether you expect students to consider the visuals or just the words in the circle.

Those Circle Things (Intro Ideas) – Google Slides

Those Circle Things (U.S. History) – Google Slides

Those Circle Things (World History) – Google Slides

“Have To” History: A Wall of Separation

December 18, 2019June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

NOTE: I’ve finally completed “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases (or at least the initial draft). At the moment, it’s available on Teachers Pay Teachers and intended to be an easily affordable resource for pretty much any American History or Government teacher of whatever level – from 8th Grade Civics to APUSH. I’m not looking to make serious money or anything, but it took a long time to write and edit, so until I have time to pursue other avenues, there it is.

In the meantime, it’s on to the resource book I’ve wanted to put together for a much longer time – Supreme Court cases related to religion in the public square, particularly in relation to public schools. I find the topic fascinating and the cases and their written opinions far more engaging than pretty much anything else in the annals of jurisprudence. I realize this makes me both weird and slightly pathetic, but so be it. This post is the first chapter of this new undertaking. If you’d like to read more, go buy the first one so I can afford to order pizza and keep working on it.

“Have To” History: Stuff You Don’t Really Want To Know (But For Some Reason Have To) About The “Wall of Separation”

Three Big Things:

1. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution contains six specific protections, two of which are related to religion. The “Establishment” Clause says government cannot support one religion over another or promote the idea of religion over non-religion; the “Free Exercise Clause” says government cannot target or hinder a specific religion or religion in general.

2. The phrase “a wall of separation between Church & State” comes from a letter by President Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists; while not part of the Constitution, it’s been cited so often by various Supreme Court decisions that it might as well be.

3. The 14^th Amendment, passed shortly after the Civil War, requires states to recognize most of the same rights guaranteed on the federal level by other amendments – or at least that’s how it’s come to be understood. The application of principles found in the Bill of Rights to state or local government via the 14^th Amendment is known in legal circles as “incorporation.”

Background: A Bill of Rights

The U.S. Constitution was written as a replacement for the Articles of Confederation – the new nation’s first effort at writing a broad set of laws by which to govern itself. The Articles had guaranteed the States almost complete sovereignty and absolute independence from one another – a great idea in theory, but not as workable in practice.

It was understandable that the Framers would err on the side of freedom, having finally won an extended and bitter war with the Motherland over a King they’d claimed was a “tyrant.” There were over two dozen specific examples of his excessive rule-making and liberty-crushing behavior included in the break-up letter penned by the Colonies – a missive better known as the “Declaration of Independence.”

But they had, perhaps, swung a bit too far away from structure and security. The Constitution was an effort to rectify the resulting difficulties. Turns out that sometimes, thoughtful limits actually grease the gears of liberty.

When the U.S. Constitution was finally ready for public review and debate in the late 1780’s, there were many who thought we’d once again overcompensated – this time back towards too much central authority and too little freedom. They wanted some sort of written guarantee they wouldn’t be oppressed by this bigger, stronger government.

The authors were appalled at this concern. Obviously, any powers not specifically granted to the national government by this document remained with the States and the People thereof! To spell out those protections would be… redundant! Possibly even limiting! What if listing some specifically guaranteed rights implied that they were the only ones thus secured?!

It almost got ugly.

Nevertheless, a compromise was reached. The Constitution was ratified, and a collection of ten clarifying Amendments almost immediately passed as a package deal. Thus, the “Bill of Rights.” Despite the numbering system, there are far more than ten rights included. Some Amendments, like the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth, are packed with due process and thick verbiage. Others, like the Eighth, are fairly crisp – although written in such a way as to allow at least 225 years of subsequent debate as to exactly what they mean.

The Third is all but irrelevant. The Seventh, strangely technical. The Second – well, the Second was badly written from the moment it was passed. Whatever it did or didn’t intend to say about the right to “bear arms,” James Madison’s English teacher must have had a fit.

But the best-known is probably the First.

The First Amendment

The First Amendment contains six specific protections, somewhat related, and presumably so very important that they all tied for first when the Framers were debating what to guarantee the mostiest mostest:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

These are the biggies that squeezed in ahead of militias and quartering of soldiers, and even beat out due process in order of presentation. The right to protest. The right to associate with whomever you wish, including but certainly not limited to political organizations of any and all stripes. Freedom of the press and of speech – absolute linchpins to any nation hoping to maintain the slightest credibility as a true democracy.

But coming ahead of all of them – earning the first two slots in all of Amendment-dom – are the twin ‘freedom of religion’ clauses.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…

In the most basic terms, this says the government may not do anything to promote or encourage a particular religion or the concept of religion in general. Doing so creates a double curse. It leads to the marginalization and eventual persecution of those with different beliefs (whether that difference is major or minor), AND it soils the very faith the government is promoting by making it a tool of secular authority, regulated by political maneuvering and flawed men rather than one’s own spiritual journey.

A faith mandated by the guys with guns and the keys to the jail is, of course, no faith at all.

Or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

This is the part which says that the government may not do anything to discourage, limit, or punish a particular religion or the concept of religion in general. Hopefully the problems with that sort of behavior are self-evident.

The President and Some Baptists

As to the phrase “wall of separation between church and state,” we have Jefferson to either thank (or blame, depending on your point of view). Well, him and the Baptists.

In 1801, while Jefferson was President, he received a letter from the Danbury Baptists Association in Danbury, Connecticut. They had some concerns about religious freedom and what they saw as inadequate delineation between the secular and the spiritual:

Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that Religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious opinions, {and} that the legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor.

These Danbury Baptists were asserting that faith is between the individual and his God, while the government is simply supposed to keep us from killing one another or taking each other’s stuff. That’s it – no getting involved in issues best left to the pulpit or the prayer closet. They were frustrated at what they perceived as local governmental practices, indirectly promoting on sect over another, and a growing tendency for those seeking power to fling accusations of godlessness at opponents who refused to use their secular authority to do the same.

Way back in the day, that is.

That is, however, the logical and historical result when you have a religious population and a government of-the-by-the-for-the people. It’s natural to want government to step in and take “your side.” It’s the flip-side of religious freedom – where two or more or gathered, they’ll immediately begin arguing about the finer points of hermeneutics. Unless a government makes substantial and ongoing efforts to avoid such entanglements, those arguments naturally spill over into the secular realm.

It was Jefferson’s reply which gave expression to what has become the most common understanding of the First Amendment’s guarantees regarding matters of faith:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.

There it is.

By itself, it’s just a phrase in a letter. But it’s a phrase in a letter which has been repeatedly referenced and validated in Supreme Court decisions and has become an entrenched and widely accepted interpretation of First Amendment protections through case law and sheer longevity. In other words, it’s as close to belonging in the actual text of the Constitution as something can be without actually being in the text. Then again, it didn’t really matter very much for the next hundred years.

The 14^th Amendment and “Incorporation”

Prior to the 14th Amendment, the protections offered by the Bill of Rights applied exclusively to the Federal Government. While most States had similar protections in their own constitutions, these were inconsistent and locally interpreted. The 14th Amendment changed all of that in ways neither immediate nor obvious. Passed in 1868 as part of the ‘Reconstruction Amendments,’ its initial intent was to guarantee full and equal citizenship for Freedmen – newly freed Black Americans.

It reads, in part:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

It was the first time that the States had been specifically targeted this way. It chipped away substantially at the wall separating State and Federal power – with central authority clearly coming out ahead. Still, several generations passed before the Supreme Court began regularly interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment as a means of “incorporation” – applying the Bill of Rights to the States by way of that part about “equal protection.”

In 1947, this gradual “incorporation” finally crossed into the realm of public schooling. Well… sort of. It made it as far as the bus. The case was , and it began a long and winding path of jurisprudence shaping the relationship between religion and public schools.

Spoiler alert: not everyone would be happy with the results.