Individual Rights in International Perspective: Lessons on Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Nigeria
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 360 240 SO 023 274 AUTHOR Miller, Barbara; Parisi, Lynn TITLE Individual Rights in International Perspective: Lessons on Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Nigeria. INSTITUTION Social Science Education Consortium,Inc., Boulder, Colo. SPONS AGENCY Commission on the Bicentennial of the UnitedStates Constitution, Washington, DC. REPORT NO ISBN-0-89994-367-5 PUB DATE 92 NOTE 250p.; Project name: "The Ideasand Ideals of the Bill of Rights Around the World". AVAILABLE FROM Social Science Education Consortium,3300 Mitchell Lane, Suite 240, Boulder, CO 80301-2272. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Citizenship Education; Civil Rights;*Constitutional Law; Cross Cultural Studies; ForeignCountries; *History Instruction; InternationalRelations; Secondary Education; *Social Influences;Social Studies IDENTIFIERS *Bill of Rights; Canada; Japan;Mexico; Nigeria ABSTRACT The role of the U.S. Constitutionas a model for an influence on the establishment ofgovernments in other nations offers an effective vehicle for expanding educationabout this nation's civic values, rights, andresponsibilities. By studying how the ideas and principles of the U.S. Constitutionand the Bill of Rights have been adopted, adapted, and integratedinto the political and social systems of other nations, under whatcircumstances these ideas have been transported and adopted successfully,and under what circumstances they have failed, studentscan gain insight into the Constitution and Bill of Rights, therebydeveloping a fuller appreciation of their own democratictradition, and of the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.This work consists ofa series of 31 lesson plans with handouts.The section dealing with Canada focuses not on the obvious similaritiesbetween Canada and the United States, but with the differences.The section on Mexico emphasizes that an important part ofcross cultural understanding is recognizing the differing perceptions of therole of law in society. The similarity of the U.S. and Mexicanconstitutions is compared to the enormous differences in history and culture.The section on Japan seeks to provide a historicalcontext for analyzing the Meiji and Showa constitutions and to helpstudents recognize the importance of culture in shaping both the descriptionand actual practice of government. The section on Nigeria providesa background in the ways some traditional cultures of Nigeria viewedthe concept of rights. (DK) INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE. U.S. DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) tMrs document has WOO reproduced so eCeived from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to Improve reproduction duality Points of view Or opinions staled in this docu merit do not necessarily represent official OE RI positron or policy LESSONS ON CANADA, MEXICO, JAPAN, AND NIGERIA (\r.) C) The Ideas and Ideals of the Bill of Rights Around the World Project Social Science Education Consortium C) INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: LESSONS ON CANADA, MEXICO, JAPAN, AND NIGERIA by Barbara Miller and Lynn Parisi with Elsie Beg ler, Roland Case, Folu Ogundimu Ken Rodriguez, Akbarali Thobhani, Ruth Yates The Ideas and Ideals of the Bill of Rights Around the World Project Social Science Education Consortium Boulder, Colorado 1992 ORDERING INFORMATION This publication is available from: Social Science Education Consortium 3300 Mitchell Lane, Suite 240 Boulder, CO 80301-2272 ISBN 0-89994-367-5 © Copyright 1992 Social Science Education COrIFOrtik1M This work was supported by the Commission on the Bicentennialof the United States Constitu- tion. Grantees undertaking such projects under governmentsponsorship are encouraged to ex- press freely their professional judgment in theconduct of the project. Points of view or opinions stated do not, therefore, necessarily represent the official position orpolicy of the Commission. 4 ii CONTENTS Acknowledgments iv Introduction 1 Canada 3 Introduction 3 Lesson 1: Comparing Constitutional Values 5 Lesson 2: Historical Highlights: Canada and the Unitem States 15 Lesson 3: Contrasting Canadian and American Attitudes 17 Lesson 4: Judges and Constitutional Rights 25 Lesson 5: Improving the Constitution 35 Lesson 6: Freedom of Expression: Teachers' Rights 49 Lesson 7: Search and Seizure: Students' Rights 55 Lesson 8: Freedom of Religion: Prayer in the Schools 63 Closing Reflections 67 Bibliography 68 Mexico 69 Introduction 69 Lesson 1: Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos and the United States: Comparing National Symbols 71 Lesson 2: Mexico's History and National Heroes 77 Lesson 3: Law and Authority in the Aztec Empire 93 Lesson 4: The Mexican Constitution of 1917 103 Lesson 5: Church/State Relations in the Mexican Constitution 115 Lesson 6: Victim or Villain? Land Reform in Mexico 125 Lesson 7: Living Law vs. Written Law: Conflict Revolution in Rural Mexico 131 Lesson 8: Political Education Through Art 139 Bibliography 143 Japan 145 Introduction 145 Lesson 1: The World According to Confucius 147 Lesson 2: Geography and Perceptions of Individual Space in Japan 153 Lesson 3: The Individual in Japanese Society 155 Lesson 4: The Meiji Constitution in Historical Context 161 Lesson 5: Comparing Principles of Government in the Meiji and U.S. Constitutions . 173 Lesson 6: Dictating Change: A Simulation 175 Lesson 7: Bringing Democracy to Japan 177 Lesson 8: Comparing Individual Rights in Japan and the United States 183 Lesson 9: The Tug of War Between Law and Custom: The Fukuoka Patricide Case 195 Lesson 10: A Half Step Behind: The Evolution of Women's Rights in Japan 205 Bibliography 215 Nigeria 217 Introduction 217 Lesson 1: U.S. Perceptions of Africa: Nigerian Perceptions of the United States 219 Lesson 2: A Case for the Egwugwu: A Framework for Comparing Cultures and Legal Systems 225 Lesson 3: Nigeria's Historical Timeline 23: Lesson 4: The Constitution, Religion, and Family Law 241 Lesson 5: The Constitution, the Press, and Civil Liberties 249 Bibliography 257 iii t) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS the Bicen- In 1990, the Social Science EducationConsortium was funded by the Commission on develop curricu- tennial of the United States Constitution toconduct a one-year, statewide program to exercise of government in lum materials on the significance of theU.S. Bill of Rights in the framing and teachers participated in a otl,er nations. Middle and high schoolworld geography, cultures, and history materials in their class- series of workshops on the curriculummaterials developed and then used the in this volume and in improving rooms. Their feedback wascritical in selecting the units to be included the units prior to publication. Theparticipating teachers are listed below. Participating Teachers Mesa District 51 Academy District 20 Delta Joint District 50 Rex Duncan Lynette Marrs Bill Grom Maggie Somerville Adams County District 12 Denver Public Schools Pueblo District 60 Richard Bluhm Judy Kramer John C. Lenhart, Jr. Pam Newman Linda Matarrese Richard Schwessing Francis (c-ke) L. Reynolds Tamara Phome Pueblo District 70 Bethune District R-5 Ted Hall David M. Styduhar Gina De Santis Jefferson County Public Schools St. Vrain Schools Cherry Creek Schools Jim Astle Marsha Eubanks Maurice Ginsberg Susan Hayward Warren Franz Judy Givens Roger Myers Michael O'Dorisio Marilyn Huber Richard L. Tucker Colorado Springs District 11 Ethel Platt Cheryl R. Walsh Sandra K. Dantzer Weld County Schools Lineah Davey Larry R. McCandless Jon A. Hoffman Littleton District 6 Gerald Angerman Larry M. Raehal Ruth Yates of We extend special thanks to the othercontributors to this volume: Roland Case and Latin American Outreach Simon Fraser University, who developedthe Canada unit; Elsie Beg ler of the Civic Education, who Center at San Diego State University,and Ken Rodriguez of the Center for Michigan State Univer- contributed lessons and other materialsfor the Mexico unit; Folu Ogundimu of sity, the primary author of the Nigeriaunit; and Akbarali Thobhani of theInstitute for Intercultural bibliography for the Studies and Services at Metropolitan StateCollege, who wrote the introduction and of Dr. John J. Patrick, Nigeria unit. The project benefitedthroughout from the advice and assistance served as constitu- Director of the Social Studies DevelopmentCenter at Indiana University; Dr. Patrick project assistant, and tional studies consultant and curriculumreviewer. The work of Betsy Glade, Cindy Cook, prc _Jction manager, is alsoappreciated. Barbara Miller Lynn Parisi 6 iv INTRODUCTION The United States Constitution is this nation'smost important export. Albert Blaustein in the U.S. Constitution: A Model for Nation Building The role of the U.S. Constitution as a model for and influenceon the establishment of governments in other nations offers an effective vehicle for expandingeducation about our nation's civic values, rights, and responsibilities. While critical to the studyof our own nation, the U.S. Constitution is alsoa document of global significance, providinga model for and an enduring example of republican self-gov- ernment that has been adopted and adapted by countrieson every continent. The bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution and worldevents inspired this project by offering both a special opportunity and an incentive to examine, analyze,and appreciate the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in an international contextas documents thathave served as an