ODYSSEYWARE

This week the United States Senate will likely confirm the next Justice to the the highest court in the land, the United States Supreme Court.  Surprisingly little is known in the public about the Supreme Court and its inhabitants.  This is a shame for many reasons: justices hold lifetime appointments without the check of frequent elections or accountability to the public, yet hold sway over some of the most transcending issues facing us as Americans.  Rights to speech, assemble, religion and a multitude of other important facets of our life are addressed by nine individuals who, for the most part, are unknown to the average American and certainly will never become household names.  Against that nebulous backdrop the nation prepares to see the likely confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor this week, making her the first Hispanic Justice ever to sit on the Court.  However Sandra Day O’Connor (one of the few females ever to sit on the court), troubled by this void in public knowledge, has taken to the Internet to educate students about the Supreme Court.  The Arizona Republic chronicles her attempt to put an interactive, informational online learning site together that details the lives and work of Supreme Court Justices:

The interactive Web site is targeted at teaching middle-school
students about the judiciary and other parts of government. It also
provides teachers with classroom activities and curriculum-building
resources.  Online games are the latest extension of a project that grew out of a
2006 conference chaired by O’Connor and Supreme Court Justice Stephen
Breyer. Many attendees highlighted a  lack of effective civics training
in schools as one of the biggest threats to the judicial system.  “It was clear from the discussions we had that there is a lack of
understanding about the role of judges,” O’Connor said.

The website, ourcourts.org, is a fantastic resource–admittedly tying up this author’s afternoon with fun, instructional games and stories that shed light on the Supreme Court’s work.  The true test will be whether students, who in a recent poll could only name one Justice out of the nine (O’Connor herself, who was slightly more frequently cited than Judge Judy), use the content and learn more about a truly powerful, and oft misunderstood institution.