Each
year the Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative partners with the
Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago and A.N. Pritzker Elementary School
to run the Lawyers in the Classroom Program. For one week each semester, law students, faculty and staff volunteer to
visit Pritzker and teach middle school classes a one-hour lesson on the U.S.
Constitution and other legal principles. It is always a big hit with both the middle school students and law
school volunteers!
One
of the lessons, entitled “No Weapons Allowed,” gives the middle school students
the opportunity to discern the difference between the “spirit of the law” and
the “black letter law.” After the
students talk in a large group about the overall rule, they then break up into
smaller groups, led by the law student volunteers, to apply what they have
learned to several hypotheticals. For
every lesson, the middle school students get the chance to learn a basic
constitutional law concept and an opportunity to apply the concept to different
fact scenarios.
The volunteer experience is a very fulfilling one for both the middle school
and law school students. As Anne Marie Knisley (JD, Class of 2018) put it, “This
was an excellent opportunity to interact with students and help increase their
knowledge and awareness about the justice system. For law students, it’s a
great opportunity to speak to a group and practice skills we are learning.” Edward O’Neill (JD, Class of 2018) added, “It
was an excellent exercise to help the kids think outside the box and approach
issues in a different light.”
DePaul will return to Pritzker during the spring semester to teach additional
lessons and build on some of the legal principles discussed in classrooms this
fall.