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Parents and the Law

“Here and Now” Practical Law for FACS Students

Parents and the Law

For the past two years, we have used the 23-lesson curriculum, Parents and the Law, with our high school students in Birmingham, Alabama and have seen them empowered by its skill-building format and interactive design.

A unique and dynamic family law-related curriculum, designed by Street Law, Inc., came to our attention during a session at the AAFCS 2003 Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Later that year, we were invited to attend the annual Parents and the Law training in Silver Spring, MD. What we discovered was profound. We were “blown away” by the impact of the law on family health, marriage, relationships, child rearing, employment, and even the consumption of goods and services. Before the training, we had not realized how much the law affects every aspect of family life.

For the past two years, we have used the 23-lesson curriculum, Parents and the Law, with our high school students in Birmingham, Alabama and have seen them empowered by its skill-building format and interactive design. They are able to role-play in mock trials, hearings, and during case analysis to empathize with the characters while employing sound decision-making skills rooted in the law. Encouraged by the curriculum, we invited police officers, social workers, attorneys, and other community resources into the classroom to enhance the lessons and portray a “this is for real” image. After all, “seeing is believing” for most teenagers. As the result, students have learned volumes about the role these people play in safeguarding their individual rights along with the rights of both children and parents in their community.

In addition to the implementation of the Parents and the Law curriculum with teenage students, we have conducted a two-day workshop for Alabama FACS teachers, sponsored by the Alabama Association of Family & Consumer Sciences and presented by Street Law.

Rave reviews from those teachers included statements like these: “This is the best curriculum I’ve seen in years;” “All FACS teachers should have access to this curriculum;” and “We are shortchanging our students if we do not give them this information regarding their legal rights and responsibilities as future parents.”

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Source: AAFCS (American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (Reproduced with permission)

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Parents and the Law

Topic: Underserved Youth

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