Civics Education: Bar Association Efforts
with Impact
Bob Black, President State Bar of Texas
Educating the Public
Oyez, Oyez, Oh Yay!
www.texasbar.com/civics
Introductions
JUSTICE SANDRA DAY
O’CONNOR
• http://www.texasbar.com/
civics
CHIEF JUSTICE WALLACE
JEFFERSON
• http://www.texasbar.com/
civics
Key Points
• Meets the intent of the Texas Essential Knowledge and
Skills (TEKS), which now require the students to not
only know the name and precedent of court cases, but
also their impact on American life.
• Filled a gap made by new standards and outdated
resources.
• Provides an invaluable resource in one place saving the
teacher hours of research time.
• Shows how case facts and impact goes hand in hand.
Videos for Middle School Students
• Website features educational videos produced by State
Bar of Texas Law-Related Education Department
• Five seminal U.S. Supreme Court Cases:
– Marbury v. Madison
– McCulloch v. Maryland
– Gibbons v. Odgen
– Worcester v. Georgia
– Dred Scott v. Sandford
• High school students are asked to study 19 landmark
court cases in government and history.
• Videos of 7 of those cases are being added to the
website.
Quotes From Teachers
• “It engages the students and meets the learning style of
today’s students.”
• “It is the language the students speak and can
understand.”
• “The wealth of resources allows the students to keep
going back to learn more about our courts.”
• “It engages the teachers and makes us want to learn
more.”
Activities
THE WINNER IS?
CASE REVIEW CARDS
Case Study Master Strategies Chart
Outreach to Teachers and Students
• To date, Oyez, Oyez, Oh Yay! has been presented to
more than 2,500 Texas teachers, and, in turn, reached
more than 375,000 Texas students.
• Law-Related Education Department continues to
present the website to teachers at teaching workshops
across the state.
• Website use shows expected growth prior to and during
examination times.
www.texasbar.com/civic
Civics Education: Bar Association Efforts
with Impact
Bob Black, President State Bar of Texas