For one Maricopa eighth grader, Constitution Week came with a possible career lesson.
Daleyza Villazana already wants to become a lawyer. So when attorney Ken Misajet walked into Leading Edge Academy Monday morning to talk about the Constitution and students’ rights, she was paying attention.
Misajet, managing attorney at Stone Rose Law, was one of nearly 100 volunteer attorneys and judges participating in the Arizona Bar Foundation’s annual Connecting with Classrooms Constitution Week initiative Sept. 14-18.
The program connected legal professionals with students at more than 90 Arizona schools, giving them an opportunity to discuss the U.S. Constitution, their rights and responsibilities, and how the law affects their everyday lives.
At Leading Edge, Misajet focused on the First and Fourth Amendments and how constitutional rights can apply to students in their everyday lives. He said he wanted to keep the discussion practical rather than overwhelm students with the complexities of constitutional law.
“I just hope that it kind of sparked their curiosity, and they said, you know what, 98% of what he said, maybe I’m not going to remember that, but the 2% at least I’m interested in that, and I’m going to go do some reading about that,” Misajet said.
For Villazana, the lesson connected with a goal she already has for her future.
“I actually want to be a lawyer when I grow up, so it’s important,” she said.
Villazana said she particularly liked hearing Misajet explain his work and some of the terminology used by judges.
She said she wants to become a lawyer “to communicate with people more and to help people.”
Misajet said teaching students about their constitutional rights can have an impact beyond the classroom.
“I think that it honestly it just makes them more more informed voters,” he said. “So if they can get that understanding of their rights early on, it’ll just kind of make them more more informed as they move throughout their lives.”
The Arizona Bar Foundation provides presenters with optional lesson plans and interactive activities, as well as pocket constitutions and gavel pencils for participating students.
Last year, the program reached more than 80 classrooms at 67 schools, involving 77 educators and 6,057 students across 11 Arizona counties.
Connecting the Constitution to everyday life
Constitution Week also was observed at Desert Sunrise High School Friday morning.
AP social studies teacher Connor Exline said his students were eager to engage with the Constitution and make connections between the country’s foundational documents and their own lives.
“A lot of young people find the foundational history of our country and government to not be as interesting as the more recent past, so I’m very lucky to get to work with students that see the importance in making the connections between foundational documents like the Constitution and the way that their lives are impacted every day,” he said.
Exline said having local officials participate in those discussions was an added benefit. That included members of Maricopa City Council and Maricopa Unified School District’s Governing Board, as well as Rep. Teresa Martinez.
“Having local officials willing to join in on these discussions is absolutely a bonus, and I’m so thankful for the support that our students receive from their elected officials and school district leaders,” he said.
