Civics education

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was an originalist in his approach to the Constitution. In a 2008 video for Annenberg Classroom, he and Justice Stephen G. Breyer discussed theories of interpreting the Constitution.

Yale University law and psychology professor Dan Kahan, and the former top news executive at WHYY/NewsWorks, Chris Satullo, have joined the policy center for the spring semester.

The Annenberg Classroom documentaries “Habeas Corpus: The Guantanamo Cases” and "Magna Carta," both released in September for Constitution Day, have been awarded prizes for excellence.

Hundreds of fourth- and fifth-grade Philadelphia-area students showed off their impressive knowledge of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure at the Rendell Center's Citizenship Challenge.

Annenberg Classroom and other partners in the Civics Renewal Network will take part in the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in New Orleans, the nation's largest social studies conference.

Thousands of immigrants from across the globe will be sworn in as American citizens, while students nationwide will take part in the “Preamble Challenge” to celebrate Constitution Day (Sept. 17).

In time for Constitution Day, Annenberg Classroom has released three videos dealing with constitutional protections and the rule of law, including habeas corpus in the Guantanamo Bay detention cases. Also back this fall is a popular online course about the Constitution from scholar Kermit Roosevelt.

"Allegiance," a literary thriller by Kermit Roosevelt, a distinguished research fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center and constitutional law expert, is being published August 25. It draws on events surrounding the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement celebrated its relocation to the Annenberg Public Policy Center on May 4, in events that showcased their joint interest in civic education and judicial independence. The Rendell Center also sponsored a youth mayoral forum where 4th and 5th graders could question Philadelphia's mayoral candidates.

The Rendell Center for Civics & Civic Engagement has moved its headquarters to the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and the two institutions announced plans to collaborate on projects to strengthen civics education in schools.