The Magna Carta and Fund for Teachers

Winston Churchill said, “We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which through the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeus Corpus, Trial by Jury and the English Common Law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.”

Agreed to by King John on June 15, 1215, the Magna Carta attests that the king is subject to the rule of law and documents the liberties held by “free men.” Eight hundred and ten years later – to the day – Fund for Teachers Fellow John Fehr was in the United Kingdom hunting down the four extant, original copies of the Magna Carta. The same time that multiple “No Kings” protests were held across America. 

Pretty timely, I’d say. 

Welcome to this July 4th edition of Fund for Teachers – The Podcast. I’m Carrie Caton Smith and the goal of each episode is to elevate teachers as the inspiring architects of their careers, classrooms and school communities. Today, we’re kicking off the 2025 “Fellow Season” as I like to call it, by learning from Jeff Fehr, teacher at Humboldt Middle / High School in Humboldt, Kansas. Jeff teaches Geography, Kansas History and American History and encourages his students to find personal connections to history to find their path forward IN history.

But how does one help students find personal connections to an 810-year-old document? For Jeff, the answer was a Fund for Teachers fellowship.

We caught up with Jeff in Salisbury, England, after seeing two copies of the Magna Carta in Salisbury and Lincoln, but before seeing the final two copies at the British Library in London. He shared with us his experiences (which includes goosebumps and a few tears) which he plans to incorporate into the development of project-based learning in social studies, with a focus on making historical concepts meaningful and relatable for students by linking the past to current issues around rights, governance, and justice.

Learn more about Fund for Teachers on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages and apply for YOUR self-designed fellowship at fundforteachers.org.

Music on podcast: Scott Harris: Clear Progress