Mock Constitutional Convention
Students will be acting as delegates from the states attending the Constitutional Convention. The ultimate goal of this exercise is to create a Constitution of our own. Mr. Orr will act as the President in order to make certain that all the most important issues that were discussed and debated at the real Constitutional Convention are addressed. Certain procedural rules are necessary to encourage participation by all students and everyone is required to take copious notes on what transpires in the course of events. Without these strictures the tendency is for a few active students to be saddled with too many responsibilities. All students are expected to contribute and will be assigned to work on a number of cross-state committees. These committees are responsible for making formal proposals and for canvassing the other delegates along the way before being heard in general session.
The mock Constitutional Convention proves to be the ideal setting for giving students an appreciation for what is in the real US Constitution. Every issue debated provides the perfect context for pointing out how the Founders dealt with the same or similar concerns. In the end each class will have created a first-class document; bearing the signatures of all the delgates. Some fantastic ideas have come out of this process that any seasoned legislator would find interesting and plausible.
One final note: In each of Mr. Orr's classes a committee of 4 or 5 students will be selected by their peers to work up a final draft of our Constitution. The members of this committee will be granted extra credit based on the quality of the final product. Some classes have even voted to PAY the members of this committee for doing the extra work. Yes...real money!