Local student wins contest recognizing Bill of Rights Day – Daily Journal Online

How well do you know the Bill of Rights? Do you maybe remember only a few of the 10 First Amendment, speech and religion; Second Amendment, right to bear arms; Fifth Amendment, dont have to incriminate yourself but youre a little fuzzy remembering the other seven?

Farmington homeschooled student Grace Troup, fifth grade, came up with an idea to artistically depict the 10 Amendments in the Bill of Rights, just in time for Bill of Rights Day today.

Her excellent concept even won a poster contest hosted by the U.S. Courts of the Western District of Missouri.

Grace Troup, a fifth grader homeschooled in Farmington, said it took about two months to research each of the Constitution's first 10 Amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791.

Federal Courts around the Seventh and Eighth Judicial Circuits hosted a live webinar for more than 100 participants on the evening of Dec 1. During the webinar, U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes of the Western District of Missouri gave a chat and Q&A session about the Bill of Rights, which was followed by the announcement of the grand prize winners of the second annual student essay and poster contest.

Students in grades 3-12 from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin were encouraged to submit art and essays on the importance of the Bill of Rights, and 300 entries were received from around the two circuits.

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Grace, who is almost 11, won the 3rd-5th grade category for art with her poster that pictorially explains each of the Constitutions first 10 Amendments.

The 7 for the Seventh Amendment guaranteeing a trial by jury is decorated with a judge at the top of the numbers shape, and six rows of a diverse jury partitioning off the base of the number, the word freedom highlighted for emphasis next to it.

The 4 for the Fourth Amendment preventing unreasonable search and seizure is decorated with a judge, a detective with a magnifying glass, binoculars and a search warrant.

Grace said she and her mother, Kristen, researched each amendment in the Bill of Rights so she could figure out how to depict them in each hollowed-out number.

It was complicated, she said. But I think its interesting, these are how laws are made.

I learned a lot too while we were doing it, Kristen said. Especially with the 9th and 10th (Amendments) because I didn't know certain rights are protected that you probably dont even realize were protected, we take them for granted, like travel. You know, you think about countries like North Korea and China, and theyre not traveling anywhere if theyre not allowed to travel.

We just pick up and go when we want.

Kristen said she homeschools Grace and two of her younger siblings as part of the south St. Louis County group SHARE -- St. Louis Homeschooling Activities, Resources and Encouragement. Graces youngest two siblings arent homeschooled yet, they are 1 and 3.

SHARES sends out weekly emails if there's any kind of competitions or events or anything to try to get homeschool kids together, she said. They sent out the Judicial Learning Education Center email that they were having this contest. We've competed at a few others and done pretty well, so I decided to do a unit study on the Bill of Rights, and there we have it.

Grace worked for weeks on the poster, researching the amendments, choosing how to depict each right, watching art videos on the Art for Kids Hub channel on YouTube to help her execute the drawings just right.

But the channel only went so far in helping her figure out how to draw, well certain things.

This one, she said, pointing to the noose, electric chair, guillotine and stockade depicted inside the number shape for the Eighth Amendment the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Like, Art Hub for Kids didn't have most of this stuff. So I had to go on different websites with my mom. I'm like, Oh, wow. They use a lot of different stuff on here!

Kristen chuckled, grimacing. Yeah, we had to research a lot because we didn't quite know what cruel and unusual punishment was, as we were learning about it, she said. We didn't realize some of the, like, ways that people could be punished

Disturbing stuff! marveled Grace.

Yeah, but thats why the amendments important.

When asked which amendment might have been her favorite to draw, Grace pointed to the Fifth Amendment trial by a jury, no self-incrimination, no double jeopardy.

She had a great time drawing the prisoner, Kristen said, referring to the orange-striped-pajamas-clad prisoner with clenched teeth and balled-up fists.

As for her favorite amendment, Grace said it was the First Amendment.

Freedom of religion, assembly and press, because people can believe in what they want, she said. But I think it's more important to know what you believe in, instead of being told what you can believe in.

Sarah Haas is the assistant editor for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at 573-518-3617 or at shaas@dailyjournalonline.com.

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Local student wins contest recognizing Bill of Rights Day - Daily Journal Online