The Words We Live By

The unique power of social media has come to Mrs. Vianney’s AP Government classes this year.

While lesson planning last spring, Mrs. Vianney took a picture of Linda R. Monk’s book The Bill of Rights, A User’s Guide, posting it to Twitter and tagging Ms. Monk. When the fall came around, she once again reached out to Ms. Monk to let her know that she’d chosen a different text of hers, The Words We Live By, Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution, to be a supplemental text for the three sections of her AP class this year. Ms. Monk generously messaged Mrs. Vianney back, offering to send signed book plates for the students (which she happened to sign and date on September 17, Constitution Day!) and even to set up a Zoom visit, as well. After diving into the text, Mrs. Vianney’s F period class said, “I like how Ms. Monk quotes the Constitution and then gives an explanation. Her language is accessible and helps students understand the nuts and bolts of our government and our rights.”

Linda R. Monk, J.D., is a constitutional scholar, journalist, and nationally award-winning author. A graduate of Harvard Law School, she twice received the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, its highest honor for public education about the law. For more than 25 years, Ms. Monk has written commentary for newspapers nationwide—including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, and Huffington Post—and has appeared on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and NPR.