Courting Democracy: Teaching About Constitutions, Cases, and Courts

Courting Democracy encourages social studies educators to teach civic and democratic education by harnessing the pedagogical possibilities of the controversy that permeates the legal sphere. The fundamental presumption of this innovative text is that courts engage in making decisions about questions for which there are often multiple and conflicting answers. This is illustrated particularly boldly by the reality that justices on the highest court in the nation—the United States Supreme Court—often have widely varied, and well warranted answers to key questions. Such deep divisions underpin and exemplify that the role of judges and justices is not to find the "truth" but to build an argument that warrants specific and often conflicting answers to some of the most fundamental questions facing contemporary democracy in the United States. In that way, such cases offer an exemplar for students to engage in their own discussion, debate, and dissent as a critical part of fostering their awareness of civics and their role within a democratic society. By turning to the controversy and debate inherent in US Supreme Court cases, award-winning educator Diana Hess provides an innovative social studies education approach that covers both content and pedagogy in relation to the broader social and political context of our times. While many books focus on teaching practices, and others on the why and what students learn, few focus so specifically on particular content knowledge. Drawing on several lively and engaging case studies from middle and high school classes, Hess showcases high quality teaching and learning about these topics. A full section of the book is dedicated to the challenges associated with this teaching approach, including content selection and balancing specific historical knowledge against critical thinking and decision making. An invaluable resource for any current or aspiring social studies teacher, Courting Democracy encourages readers to craft curriculum and instruction that will enhance the likelihood that young people will form a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the role that constitutions, cases, and courts play in contemporary democracy in the United States.