"We the People" Teacher Training Workshop Held at the John Adams Courthouse

Justice Cordy addresses program participants.

         Twelve history and social studies teachers from across the Commonwealth participated in a daylong training workshop on December 12, entitled, "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution," sponsored by The Center for Civic Education in cooperation with Boston University School of Education.  Held in the John Adams Courthouse, the program featured interactive lesson plans designed to promote the principles and practice of democracy in an effort to enhance civic competence and responsibility among elementary and secondary students.

        Supreme Judicial Court Justice Robert J. Cordy spoke to the teachers about the role of the Supreme Court in a constitutional democracy and methods that are used to interpret the Constitution. He also compared and contrasted the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions and discussed how the Supreme Judicial Court Justices interpret the law and apply it to the facts of a case. Following the presentation, SJC Senior Administrative Attorney Barbara Berenson provided a behind-the-scenes legal history tour of the courthouse.

        Roger Desrosiers, Massachusetts State Coordinator for the "We the People," program planned the session at the John Adams Courthouse with the assistance of Attorney Berenson.

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