Attorney Wayne Hogan, president of the Terrell Hogan law firm, brought the courtroom to the classroom recently while participating in Florida’s Justice Teaching program.
Created by former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Lewis in 2006, the program promotes an understanding of Florida’s justice system and laws, develops critical thinking abilities and problem-solving skills, and demonstrates the effective interaction of the courts within the constitutional structure.
Hogan led students from Mary Chowenhill’s class in one of several available discussions and role-playing exercises called “Invaders.”
In the exercise, students split up into teams and decided which five of 10 key guarantees in the Bill of Rights — including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion — they would keep if invaders took control of the United States 20 years from now.
He told them they have a lot of rights that they don’t appreciate, so they can only keep five.
“With all that’s going on in the world today — from the Occupy movement and the tea party movement to what happened with the Arab Spring in the Middle East — it’s important that our kids appreciate the fundamental rights they have as Americans and share an awareness about our justice system,” said Hogan.
“Hearing about these rights from someone other than their teacher makes the issues come to life and gets them engaged,” said Mary Chowenhill, a Robert E. Lee High School American government and economics teacher.
So far, 125 attorneys and
judges are volunteering to teach at 179 public and private schools that have Justice Teaching classes or expressed interest in having them.
Attorneys who want to participate in Justice Teaching can call Circuit Judge Karen Cole at 630-2321. To learn more, visit www.justiceteaching.org.