December 2018 Newsletter

News from the Center for Civic Education

Announcing a New Professional Development Opportunity, Closing the Civic Engagement Gap, and More in This Month's Newsletter.

Apply Today for the American History & Civics Academies Free Summer Institute for Teachers and Students

Are you a teacher of high-need students interested in receiving free, high-quality professional development in history and civics this summer? Apply for our two-week American History & Civics Academies! This opportunity is also open to highly motivated students who will be seniors in 2019-2020. We strongly encourage teams of one teacher and two students to apply conjointly from the same school or school district. Space is limited, and the deadline to apply is March 1, 2019.

Learn more and apply.

How You Can Help in 2019

Let's face it: underprivileged communities have less access to high-quality civic education than more affluent communities. The Center has historically addressed this issue through its national programs that serve the diversity of the $char_endash schools, schools in rural poor areas, diverse suburban schools, and special outreach programs in Native American communities. You can help close the civic education gap. Donate to support the American History & Civics Academies, which will send students and teachers from high-need schools to an intensive summer learning experience devoted to improving civic knowledge and skills. We can't do this without you. Please consider making civic education your number one giving priority in 2019.

New Jersey Teacher CherylAnne Amendola on the Impact of Project Citizen in Her Classroom

Students from Montclair Kimberley Academy with Assemblywoman Britnee N. Timberlake of New Jersey (second from right). Teacher CherylAnne Amendola, the 2017 New Jersey History Teacher of the Year, is at the far left. Amendola teaches Project Citizen to her eighth-graders. She writes, "Over the last decade, Project Citizen has given my students the skills necessary to be politically active citizens, the experience of being involved in a project larger than themselves and their own academics, and the confidence to use their voices in knowing that they can be a part of the change they want to see in their world."

Do You Have a Question about Civic Education? Post in Our Civics Forum!

Congratulations Becky Millstone and Jeannie Reich on being the first two winners of the Civics Forum swag bag. We want you to participate, too! Our next drawing will be on January 7. Join the discussion today on Learn.civiced.org.

Quick Quiz! What is one result of Shays' Rebellion?

A. The states were convinced that the Constitution must be ratified right away.
B. The debts of the farmers were paid by the state governments.
C. Wealthy merchants decided to forgive the debts of farmers in order to preserve the peace.
D. State delegates were convinced that the Articles of Confederation must be amended.

Read on to learn the answer!

Nominate a Civics Teacher for the Law-Related Teacher of the Year Award

The Korea Democracy Foundation recently hosted the ninth annual Festival of Youth Social Participation in Seoul. Twelve teams of students presented their Project Citizen portfolios at the national event culminating this year's Project Citizen implementation in classrooms throughout South Korea. Participants included 550 students from 94 elementary, middle, and high schools, who took part in the preliminary evaluation leading up to the final event.

Remembering Jack Hoar

Jack Hoar worked on behalf of civic education from the 1960s until he passed away this April. Jack (center) is shown here with Robert S. Leming (left) and Roy Erickson in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in May 1996. Jack first became a colleague of the Center in about 1967 when he was the social studies supervisor for Long Beach Unified School District. Upon his retirement in 1992, he became a full-time staff member, integrally involved in all major projects of the Center. He served as director of the Civitas International Programs from 1996 to 2003, when he retired. He returned to lead the program once again from 2010 to 2014. Although he retired from the Center in 2014, he continued to be a senior consultant until his final days. You can read a preview of Jack's article, "Citizenship: From Conceptual Learning to Active Participation," which was published in the Fall 2001 issue of Social Studies Review, by clicking on the link below.

In Memoriam: David Charles Ezhaya

Longtime We the People state coordinator David Charles Ezhaya passed away on December 7. David was a veteran teacher, having begun his teaching career at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, Maine, in 1971. He retired from teaching forty years later, in 2011. Throughout his career, David was committed to teaching young people about American history and our system of government. Through his commitment to We the People, he helped hundreds of students gain a detailed knowledge of the Constitution and become informed and engaged citizens. David asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center. To express your condolences online, please visit https://www.DolbyBlaisSegee.com/obituaries/David-Ezhaya/.

Quiz Answer!

D. State delegates were convinced that the Articles of Confederation must be amended.

For more quizzes and learning opportunities, check out the 60-Second Civics podcast and daily civics quiz!

Shop to Support the Center for Civic Education

Shopping on Amazon? Use this link to benefit We the People and the Center's other civic education programs. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Center for Civic Education. You pay the same price for your purchases, but you have the satisfaction of knowing you've helped students receive the high-quality civic education they deserve. Bookmark the link and keep giving all year with every purchase.