October 6, 2008 3 Comments

Worried that your children just maybe don’t understand their rights and the basis of our government as well as they should?  Is your child cramming for a test on the Constitution which seems like plain old jibberish to her?

Cathy Travis, a poli-sci pro with tons of experience working on Capitol Hill on numerous Congressional campaigns, has revised her wonderfully easy to understand text that is perfect for children, teenagers and adults, titled Constitution Translated for Kids.  You know, sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to learn a subject.  In her book, the Constitution is translated, article by article, section by section, amendment by amendment, into easily graspable paragraphs written at the fifth grade reading level.

If you’re a teacher or you homeschool your children, this book is perfect as a teaching instrument or to supplement your current lesson plans.  There is a glossary of terms and points of discussion that make this a great workbook or starting point for essay assignments and classroom debates.  Even if your child is in high school, Constitution Translated for Kids makes a great supplementary review book for those state exams (like the dreaded New York Regents), midterms and finals.

I had the chance to throw some interview questions Cathy’s way, and here’s what she had to say:

1.  When you were writing the original edition as well as the revised
version, what was your goal, and why did you ultimately decide to write this
textbook?

The goal was simple . to make it very easy – for adults, young people, new
immigrants, and whoever was interested – to understand the essence of the
Constitution.  In politics, people equate their particular takes on issues
with what is – and isn’t – constitutional.  So I thought families and
everyday Americans needed a simple translation of every line in the
Constitution, without a political bias.

The textbook was the natural outgrowth to help teachers and educators in
classrooms, and other teaching environments, where they need a simple
overview and kids need it straightforward explanation.

2.  Do you think schoolchildren are as knowledgeable of the values upheld by
the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as they ought to be?

I’m not sure any of us really know as much as we should about our only
common birthright, the United States Constitution with the Bill of Rights.
There’s so much that goes on in kids’ lives; so many things that compete for
attention in classrooms; so many other obligations of today’s teachers; and
so much political chatter that misleads and misinforms people about the
Constitution.

Again, that was the motivation for making a very straightforward resource
for teachers and students to lay out a very simple, translation side-by-side
with the original 1787 text the Constitution’s Framers wrote.  That
side-by-side feature is entirely about letting people see what the
Constitution’s original language is, so people can be certain that the
translation isn’t inserting a political bias.

3.  Do you have any quick tips for parents on how they can get their
children more interested in the learning more about the American government,
the judicial system and American history in general?

I’ve been giving parents lots of tips about explaining the concepts of
elections, liberties, and the sturdiness of three co-equal branches of
government.

• Taking your child with you to vote is a lasting example of civic duty.
  Explain this is how we hire the people who will make decisions for us.
• Watching the political debate between the people seeking the presidency
  should be a regular family event.
• Explain liberties using circumstances kids understand, with parents as "the
  government."  Illustrate privacy rights by using a child’s room as a
  citizens’ home that the government cannot enter without a warrant.
• Illustrate free speech by asking what’s on their mind and differentiating
  between free speech and what’s not free speech (yelling "bomb" in a school).
• Ask what your child wants changed in your community, and write a letter with
  them to an official with the power to change it.  In other countries people
  can’t ask the government to change things.
• Play "rock, paper, scissors" to illustrate the three branches of government
  are co-equal.  The President is equal to Congress; both are equal to the
  Supreme Court.  In different circumstances, each branch has a chance to
  reign over the other one. 
• If you have a 3-legged stool, have your child balance on just two of the legs, to illustrate the sturdiness of three branches of government.
• Participate in a rally; explain that in most countries when people gather
  peacefully and the government doesn’t like what they say, they can be
  arrested.

This country is a monumentally special place, and we can only appreciate
that if we have a firm grasp of our rights and responsibilities under the
Constitution.

Buy Constitution Translated for Kids at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com.

Technorati Tags: Constitution Translated for Kids, social studies books, The Constitution, Cathy Travis, kids and the government, US Government, US History, history for kids

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