The Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust has developed a unique approach to teaching civil liberties in the classroom. Through the Teaching Civil Liberties in the Schools program, the organization provides free workshops, seminars and in-class sessions in schools, educating young citizens about their rights and freedoms.
The in-schools program helps teacher fulfill curriculum demands in subject areas such as History, Social Studies, Civics and Law.
Teaching Civil Liberties in the Schools differs from Introduction to Law programs and Civics courses in that they give the students the tools to think critically about issues: it is not about knowing the answers but rather understanding how to analyze competing claims and arguments about rules and about civil liberties issues. CCLET reaches thousands of students each year in highly interactive workshops where students voice a wide variety of viewpoints.
Students discuss issues from Supreme Court cases to the morning’s headlines with a civil liberties focus: should a religious teenager be permitted to refuse a blood transfusion? Should police be allowed to use dogs to search schools for drugs? Should a student be suspended for wearing a t-shirt that displays a strong and controversial political slogan? CCLET in-class workshops are not designed to give the answer on whether this is appropriate or not, but to get students to recognize that many civil liberties issues involve a recognition that multiple interests are at stake and need to be reconciled, and that reasonable people may disagree on where to draw the line.
Since the early 1990s, this program was delivered to high school students across Ontario. Recently, CCLET has begun expanding this program to elementary schools. Check out the video below to see how Teaching Civil Liberties in the Schools at the elementary level looks like:
For more information about the program or to schedule a workshop in your class, please email: education@ccla.org
