Category: News and Updates

Studying the Constitution is essential — especially now, as constitutional rights are increasingly under attack. 

Each September, schools across the country celebrate Constitution Day — students create posters praising the document, watch patriotic videos, or recite the Preamble — rather than engage in critical inquiry. These rituals present the Constitution as a sacred text, not a document created and amended through struggle.

Students rarely learn who the Constitution was written for — and who was excluded. They are taught to revere the document as the cornerstone of democracy, not to question its origins or its limits.

Today, powerful figures wield the Constitution — and undermine it — in ways that intensify profound harms across the country. It is essential that students know their rights: not just to pass a test, but to protect themselves. They should learn that throughout U.S. history, people have fought to expand the rights the Constitution promises, and to demand the rights it omits. Constitution Day should not be a celebration of myth, but an invitation to think critically.

The schools that receive federal funding are mandated to teach about the Constitution on Constitution Day (September 17). So, let’s do that. Let’s engage young people in an active study of the Constitution.

Join our campaign to Teach Truth on Constitution Day. Learn more about why we launched the campaign and our framework, Ten Ways to Rethink the Constitution.

Classroom Actions

We encourage teachers to use Constitution Day to do one or more of the activities outlined here. 

Sign up to participate — let’s make our commitment to teaching truthfully visible and contagious. (Not a teacher? We suggest ways you can support the campaign and defend the freedom to learn.)

To encourage a new generation of human rights activists, the 2025 Youth in Action for Human Rights Awards recognize youth leaders, one individual and one group, whose work explicitly or implicitly reflects and promotes human rights values. Because young activists must nominate themselves for the awards, HRE USA urges adults familiar with their work to urge them to apply.

Nomination deadline: October 1, 2025.

For further information and nomination forms see:
>>  English: hre-usa-youth-in-action-award.my.canva.site/en
>>  Español: hre-usa-youth-in-action-award.my.canva.site/es

The 2025 O’Brien Awards recognize an individual and an organization that has made a significant contribution to human rights education in the United States. 

Nomination deadline: October 1, 2025.

>> For further information and nomination forms see: https://hreusa.org/awards-and-grant-opportunities/edward-obrien-award

The 9th annual Native Knowledge 360° Teach-In, hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in collaboration with Teaching for Change, is an opportunity for educators to convene in person and strategize on uplifting Native voices directly into the classroom. 

Teachers select two workshop sessions that include relevant and resource-rich experiences to support effective use of NMAI-NYC exhibitions, American Indian-focused classroom lessons, and resources from Teaching for Change and NMAI. Cost is $20 and includes morning coffee, lunch, and professional development credit. 

Thanks to a generous donor, every attendee will receive a copy of Why You Can’t Teach United States History without American Indians.

Register

Can’t make it to the in-person event hosted in New York City?Join us for an online teach-in. Teaching for Change and NMAI museum educators will share key concepts from NMAI’s Essential Understandings Framework, children’s literature from Social Justice Books, lessons from the Zinn Education Project, and classroom materials from NMAI’s Native Knowledge 360° education initiative. Register

For over a decade, the Speak Truth to Power video contest has empowered students to use filmmaking as a tool for social change. Screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, these films shine a light on pressing human rights issues and celebrate the defenders working to create change across the nation. “The STTP video contest has changed the lives and perspectives of my students,” shared Robin Kovat, a teacher at James Madison HS, Brooklyn. “So many have told me that now, as a result of this project, they look at the world differently.” 

These student-made documentaries don’t just raise awareness; they drive real action and advocacy. Students interested in participating should submit their films for consideration by May 3, 2026. 

Learn more and submit to the video contest →

We are excited to share resources for educators going back to their classrooms. All of these materials are free and downloadable at woventeaching.org.

 Defending Democracy: Lessons for Building Resilience and Taking Action Based on the framework of Professor Timothy Snyder’s New York Times book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, the lessons of Defending Democracy highlight ways that young people can take action to protect democracy and fight authoritarianism. Highlights of Defending Democracy:An emphasis on critical thinking, media literacy, and collaboration, and community buildingHighly accessible, practical, and action-orientedAdaptable and created for either high- or low-technology environmentsGlobal and US-based examples, as well as historical and contemporary case studies. Download Defending Democracy

Human Rights Education Implementation Toolkit Responding to recent threats and uncertainty about the future of democratic institutions and non-profits in the U.S. and globally, Woven Teaching is currently focusing on the dissemination and implementation of our human rights education materials across a wide network of educators.We believe strongly that community power and education are the best tools available to promote and protect human rights. Because of this, we have created a Human Rights Education Implementation Toolkit. The goal of this is to be able to quickly provide schools and organizations with the resources, tools, and support needed to implement Woven Teaching’s resources–curricula, trainings, and other materials–in order to meet the needs of their communities. Toolkit

Free Printed Materials We are now offering printed copies of our materials free-of-charge to educators in the United States! To request lessons and curricula, please complete this order form.

For more information about other Woven Teaching materials and resources, please visit woventeaching.org/resources. 

William R. “Bill” Fernekes taught social studies and Spanish from 1974-1987 at Hunterdon Central Regional HS in Flemington NJ, later serving as supervisor of social studies from 1987 to his retirement in 2010. He has been a consultant to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, and numerous other scholarly institutions.  He is a recipient of the Mel Miller Award from the National Social Studies Supervisors Association as the outstanding social studies supervisor in the U.S., the Distinguished Service Award from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education Alumni Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Human Rights Education from HRE USA. 

Thank you for supporting the Human Rights Education NOW! podcast!