VERMILION PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- A Vermillion Parish School Board member has proposed an idea to display a copy of the Bill of Rights in every classroom. A high school senior, however, says having a display in every classroom may not be as beneficial to students as intended.
Gregg Meaux, District C board member, hopes that having a display of the Bill of Rights in each classroom will prompt students to ask questions.
“We want all our children to learn about the beginnings of our nation. I want them to fully understand all of that. I thought we had that already, but we really didn't and it'll prompt questions. That's hopefully what it's going to do. It's going to prompt them to ask questions about what their rights are,” Meaux said.
Coeyn Wise, a senior at Kaplan High School and president of the student body, said he isn't opposed to the idea of having the Bill of Rights displayed in classrooms but thinks the implementation could be refined.
“The way that the resolution was read states that it's going to be in every classroom, in every school in the parish. Well, I don't think that there's as much of an educational value in putting the Bill of Rights in a second-grade or a kindergarten classroom as it would have in a high school classroom or a middle school classroom and I think that any legislative body that deals with education, specifically the school board, they need to focus on the educational value of something,” Wise said.
“The Bill of Rights is important. The Bill of Rights, it's the building block of our democracy. But whenever you take the Bill of Rights and you put it on a wall just to let it sit there and just to be decoration, it's a problem," Wise continued.
Wise suggested that the Bill of Rights be displayed in classrooms that are specifically built around American history and civics learning.
“Those classes have the time, and it's in the curriculum to discuss the Bill of Rights and discuss all of the caveats and all of the facets of it,” Wise said. “There’s no educational value in putting it in a class just to have it there. It needs to have a discussion, it needs to be explained, and it needs to be honored.”
Meaux said nothing is final even though the idea was approved unanimously.
The next board meetings are Sept. 16 and 19.
Meaux said his vision is to have two designs available for display -- one geared to younger children and one designed to appeal to older children.
The idea for the displays was inspired by a letter a woman wrote to the Morning Advocate, Meaux said.
“I was reading a letter to the editor this woman wrote to the Morning Advocate and it was attached to or in regards to the Ten Commandment laws that they passed and she was saying, well, what about the Bill of Rights? And I started thinking and I said, well, you know, the Bill of Rights pertains to everyone in this country, and that's not a bad idea,” he said.
