Hawken Teacher Witnesses Supreme Court History During Washington Visit

Julie Agar knew she would leave Washington as stronger teacher, but she had no clue she would have a front-row seat a historic legislative week in the nation's capital.

Agar, who teaches the "In Pursuit of Justice" course for juniors and seniors at Hawken Upper School, was in Washington in late June 2013 for programs, seminars and mock trials offered by the Georgetown Supreme Court Institute and Street Law Inc. She and the Hawken administrators who funded the trip got much more than they bargained for on June 24 when Agar and other attendees got to hear Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read her dissenting opinions in the Affirmative Action decision regarding college admissions and the workplace discrimination legislations.

That night, Agar and 30 other teachers attended a reception and question-and-answer session with Ginsburg. Two days later, Ginsburg was one of the justices who voted that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.

"Essentially, history was being made this week," Agar said. "You could tell with the press waiting outside of the court each day.

"They were all highly significant in the direction of the United States government. I'd been there to watch my professional development grow before, but there was such a momentousness in being part of history. I'm really excited to bring that back to the course I teach at Hawken."

She feels that way not only because of the nature of the decisions, but also because of Ginsburg's involvement. She said justices don't always read opinions from the bench like Ginsburg did on Monday, especially one as passionate as the one debating the definition of a supervisor.

“An employee who confronts her harassing supervisor risks, for example, receiving an undesirable or unsafe work assignment or an unwanted transfer,” Justice Ginsburg wrote, according to The New York Times. “She may be saddled with an excessive workload or a shift that disrupts her family life."

Agar admitted she was "awestruck" in Ginsburg's presence.

"What was most impressive about the justice is the fantastic legal mind that she has," Agar said. "Her brainpower was fantastic. She's 80 years old, but hearing is just so impressive.

"It was very inspiring not only because there were a lot of female teachers in our group, but also because we're teaching young women today and opening their eyes to the democracy and the law."