Sandra Day O'Connor's Our Courts Web site
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By Shanti Menon -- School Library Journal, 10/14/2009 2:10:00 PM
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has been keeping busy since her retirement three years ago. Her semi-autobiographical picture book, Finding Susie (Knopf, 2009), came out in June, and she recently launched Our Courts, an interactive civics Web site for middle schoolers, which features cleverly animated role-playing games, videos, resources for teachers—and a chance to chat with the first woman justice herself.
Why launch a civics site for kids?
I was becoming very distressed with the lack of understanding, on the part of some members of Congress and the state legislatures, about the role of the third branch of government, of what the framers of the Constitution meant by an independent judiciary. I was hearing a lot of talk about activist judges—that they are secular, godless humanists trying to impose their will on the rest of us.
With all due respect, I remember civics as a pretty dull subject. How does Our Courts help?
I’ve seen some pretty boring textbooks. But if kids come to our interactive Web site, they won’t be bored! There’s a little boy next door to me, a fifth grader. I told him to go look at the Web site last night, and he stayed up until 11:30 doing it. He came hustling over this morning saying, “It’s great! It’s cool! I love it!” That’s what I want. That’s the message I want to leave you with.
What’s an activist judge, in your opinion?
I thought it meant a judge who gets up and goes to work in the morning! But they mean a judge who participates in some decisions they don’t like. It shows a fundamental lack of understanding of our courts, a lack of education. So it seemed to me that if we could do something innovative and fun, yet informative, we could get their attention.
I’m sure your grandchildren are more well versed in civics than the average kid.
I have six grandkids, ages three to 18—[and] I’m sure they’re not. But I’m not just concerned about my grandkids. This is about all of our children. In about half our states, civics is no longer a high school requirement. We’re abandoning teaching about our system of government, about what it means to be a good citizen.
What is a good citizen?
You can’t be a good citizen if you don’t know how our government works. We have this balance of powers, and the citizen has to be involved in selecting the people who represent them at every level, at the city council, the state and in Congress. You have to understand what you’re voting for and why it matters. My hope is that citizens will become a part of their government, serve on a board, a commission, or a committee so they can be heard.
How are you enjoying your retirement?
I’m busier than ever. I’m required by law to sit on lower federal courts, and that keeps me extremely busy. I’m encouraging states to move to a merit selection system for judges, and offering my help to do that. Finding Susie (Knopf, 2009) just came out, that’s my second children’s book. And the Our Courts project is huge.
You even went on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote it. What was it like?
It was a fun show. He was very intelligent and easy to talk to. But that’s something I do for this project. I don’t do it for enjoyment.
So how do you feel about Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice?
I’m very happy to have another woman on the Supreme Court. It made a big difference for me to have two women. Then the press doesn’t focus on what the woman says.
