BRI Partners With Heinz History Center For Teacher Seminar

The Bill of Rights Institute continued partnering with other organizations to promote civics education this month by holding a seminar for teachers with the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The session was the first in a 2-part series, "Struggles for Equality,” which focused on women’s rights and incorporated BRI’s Votes for Women curriculum. Attendees also toured Heinz’s “A Woman’s Place: How Women Shaped Pittsburgh,” exhibit and one teacher said, “Hearing about suffrage from perspectives that aren’t typically covered in a traditional textbook — Native Americans, Chinese Americans, Puerto Ricans, Filipinos — was eye-opening.”

BRI will return to the Heinz History Center on Thursday, Oct. 17, for the second session, “Struggles for Equality: The Plainest Demands of Justice.” Teachers will learn more about BRI’s Plainest Demands of Justice curriculum and tour the center’s “From Slavery to Freedom” exhibit.

“The Heinz History Center is a great example of combining scholarly lectures and free BRI teaching resources with tours of local history exhibits to help educators support their students to see how their local history matters to the American story,” said Joe Schmidt, BRI’s senior director of teacher programs.

BRI also recently hosted a standards alignment workshop for teachers in Utah, participated in the Utah Council for the Social Studies’ annual fall conference, and held professional development sessions for teachers in Florida and Louisiana.

“When we partner with local educational organizations, it benefits teachers to see how BRI resources connect to local resources, as well as highlighting ways that local organizations can provide support for educators,” Schmidt said.