In its Beliefs and Commitments, adopted in March of 2016, the Gwinnett County Board of Education pays tribute to the role of public education in supporting and advancing the foundational principles of our nation. These principles and an understanding of our form of government are important parts of a GCPS education.
This week, we have an opportunity to celebrate one of the founding documents for America’s representative government. Dec. 15 is Bill of Rights Day!
You can see the Bill of Rights in Washington, D.C., where the Charters of Freedom—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights— are on permanent display in the Rotunda of the National Archives.
You’ll also find replicas of these documents on display at schools and offices around Gwinnett County. And classroom lessons about the Bill of Rights and the country’s other key documents are embedded in GCPS’ Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) curriculum throughout the year and in all grades.
If you’d like to refresh your memory about the document that gave us many of the rights and personal freedoms that Americans enjoy today, look for cool resources from the Bill of Rights Institute, the National Constitution Center, and in the National Archives.
In the National Archives, you’ll find resources from the “Amending America” exhibit which explores how we’ve amended, or attempted to amend, the Constitution throughout our history. The exhibit includes an animated short on how amendments can be proposed and ratified as well as online features like “Why a Bill of Rights?” featuring digital views of primary sources from the National Archives.
There’s a video in the Constitution Center’s “Constitution Hall Pass” series that explores the origin of our Constitution’s first 10 amendments which make up the Bill of Rights. And check out historical documents that inspired the Constitution’s 27 amendments as well as rights around the world, part of the Interactive Constitution site. (The Interactive Constitution is available as a free app from iTunes and Google Play.)
Founding documents and resources are available from the Bill of Rights Institute, including a Bill of Rights rap and a profile of Founder James Madison who wrote the amendments that make up the Bill of Rights.