Harford County Republican Women

New Renaissance In Education

Patrick Henry wrote, “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” 

Harford County Republican Women are proud to partner with New Renaissance in Education (NRIE) to bring you this focus on the United States Constitution.  We depend on you, our students, to study America’s heritage and the foundations of a free society.  It is with that understanding that you will ensure that freedom continues to ring.

Paula Mullis, President HCRW

 NRIE is a 501.c.3 non-profit educational organization incorporated in the state of Maryland

            New Renaissance In Education
            P.O. Box 83302
            Gaithersburg, Maryland 20883-3802
            info@nrie.org
            www.nrie.org
            Tel: 301-728-6505

Elementary School Students, please do the following:
Create a collage of WHAT FREEDOM MEANS TO ME.  The collage should be the size of a poster board.  

Under Middle School..  please number the two possible topics.  and under High School, please number the three possible topics. 

Middle School Contestants/ choose one of the following essay topics:

• Patrick Henry wrote, “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” 
• Which do you think creates a more prosperous, unified, free, and moral society: free market capitalism or socialism?  Defend your opinion, addressing all four characteristics.

High School Contestants/ choose one of the following topics and develop a lesson plan that may be used for a one-hour class:

• Patrick Henry wrote, “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” 

• Compare and contrast how free market capitalism and how socialism affects a unified, free, and moral society.

3. Alexis de Tocqueville, French politician and author of Democracy in America, equated socialism to slavery.  “….one also finds in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to want to bring the strong down to their level, and which reduces men to preferring equality in servitude to inequality in freedom" 
1. What does de Tocqueville mean by this? 
2. Compare and contrast what ‘equality’ meant to the Founding Fathers versus what it means to a socialist.

Constitution Day Contest Rules and Eligibility
 .

• Submit one entry on or before the contest due date – September 3, 2012
• The contest will have three divisions: Elementary, Middle and High School  
• Contestants may be enrolled in any public, private or home schooling program.
• There is not entry fee.

Awards

• Winners will share $1,500 in prize money divided equally among each division.  

• The winning entries will be published on the HCRW website, and submitted to local media.

Entry Guidelines
All entry must comply with the following contest rules:

• Each entry must reflect the contestant's own research, writing and original thinking.
• Each contestant must complete and attach a student information form to include; name, school attended, address/e-mail (if applicable) and phone number. Additionally the applicant must acknowledge permission for the entry to be included on the HCRW website and to be sent to local media.
• Written entries must be typed.
• References, if applicable, should be clearly identified.
• The title page and bibliography are not included in the page count

Elementary School Contestants

• Elementary student collages must be no greater than poster board size.
• Collages will be titled, “What Freedom Means to Me”

Middle School Contestants

• Essay text is not to exceed two (2) double-spaced, 12-point Times Roman font, single-sided, numbered pages, with one-inch margins

High School Contestants

• Lesson Plans must be designed to cover a one-hour class session
• Lesson Plans may be designed for either middle-school OR high-school students.

Submission Information

• Send two (2) copies of the essay/lesson plans to

Pat Zavetz/HCRW, 1401 Marywood Drive, Bel Air, MD 21014

• Call to arrange acceptance of Poster entries: 410-838-9173
• Submitters assume the right of HCRW and NRIE to reprint essays and use them in educational workshops, with appropriate citation given to the author.  Permission will be sought is other uses are contemplated. 

 Essay/Lesson Plan Judging Score Sheet

Rate each of the five categories 1 through 20, with 20 as the highest score. Add the five categories to reach the final score.

Essay/Lesson Plan Name

Harford County Republican Women Promote the Constitution
club announcing 1st annual Constitution Day contest

(Bel Air, MD) – Putting the spotlight on the Constitution is the motivation behind the Harford County Republican Women’s Club (HCRW) launch of an annual Constitution Day challenge for the county’s students.   In 2004, Congress passed a law requiring any institution receiving federal dollars to provide educational programming on the history of the Constitution on September 17 of each year. 
“September 17th is significant because it was on September 17, 1787 that the Constitutional Congress signed the Constitution,” says Paula Mullis, HCRW president.  “Our club understands the importance of this unique document and our decision to launch this Constitution Day contest is an effort to encourage students of every age to study the Constitution and to share it with others.”
Public, private and home-schooling students from throughout Harford County are all encouraged to participate.  $1,500 in prizes will be shared among the winners chosen in the elementary, middle and high school categories. 
“Harford County has encouraged students to study the history of this country through its’ long-standing Patriot Program.  The HCRW’s focus on students and Constitution Day is an effort to support that education and to help students cement their understanding of their role as a citizen,” Mullis adds. 
“We understand that a thorough understanding of our nation’s history and our Constitution is vital to the health of our country and this club is undertaking this responsibility to ensure the future health of our nation,” adds HCRW Education Chair and retired teacher Pat Zavetz. 
The HCRW believes students of every age grasp that the Constitution is the set of rules that we live by. The Constitution is the highest law. It belongs to the United States. It belongs to all Americans. 
Elementary aged students who wish to participate will be asked create a collage that reflects what freedom means to them.  Middle school students should write an essay on what has made the U.S. Constitution so enduring.  Students in high schools will be required to develop a lesson plan on the Constitution that can be shared with their peers.  Entry deadline is September 3, 2011.  Contest requirements and details may be found at http://www.hcrw.org/ .
Harford’s Republican Women launch Constitution Day contest for students http://hcrw.org/Education%20Issues.htm