Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen Valihura marked this year’s observance of Law Day by going to Wilmington’s EastSide Charter School on Monday to teach several 5th-grade classes about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the first Law Day to recognize and celebrate the importance of the rule of law.
It is tradition to celebrate Law Day by promoting understanding of how the law safeguards individual liberties, advances justice, and preserves our democracy. In Delaware, that tradition has often included Justices, Judges and members of the Bar reaching out with educational programs to local schools.
It was in keeping with this tradition that Valihura, accompanied by her clerk, Jennifer Buckley and Wolcott Fellow, John O’Toole, visited EastSide Charter School.
“We were excited to have Justice Valihura come and speak with our 5th-grade students for Law Day. Our students are focused on their futures and having leaders like Justice Valihura share their trajectory will enable our students to better accomplish their dreams. This visit also enables our students to have a better working understanding of the Constitution and the impact that it has on their lives and government,” said Aaron Bass, CEO of EastSide Charter School.
Justice Valihura said she had been looking forward to the opportunity to speak to speak to a group of young people about the law and that she enjoyed spending a day as a grammar school Constitutional Law instructor.
“I have always been struck by the foresight and brilliance of our Founding Fathers in drafting this document. In the Preamble, they wrote of the importance of securing the blessings of liberty ‘for ourselves and our posterity’ so I chose to reach out to children of an age level where I thought they would understand the basic concepts and still be filled with the idealism that youthful hearts and minds possess,” she said. “I want them to feel that they can reach for the stars just like I dreamed of when I was young.”
In addition to lecturing in three classes, Justice Valihura also distributed copies of the Constitution to all the students who attended the class.
