BRI Traverses The Country To Reach Educators
<p>While students were busy returning to school this fall, the Bill of Rights Institute was busy holding programs and professional development sessions all over the country.</p>
<p>BRI started in September in Valley Forge, Pa., with “Civics in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century: A Civics Summit.” The multi-session summit introduced and modeled BRI resources to attendees, including the Being an American and Supreme Court DBQs curricula. It also included a civil discourse workshop and different strategies teachers can use to build a classroom community using BRI’s resources.</p>
<p>Those who attended the summit stayed at the Freedom Grounds at Valley Forge and were also treated to tours of the Medal of Honor Grove and Valley Forge National Park. The summit allowed teachers to spend ample amounts of time together through tours, dinner, and daily conversations.</p>
<p>“I teach middle and high school civics in the Philadelphia area, and the resources on the BRI website are my go-to site for my lessons in handouts,” said one teacher who attended the summit. “The vast number of resources that BRI offers for free is the reason why I don’t use a traditional textbook in my classroom.”</p>
<p>October was especially busy and BRI held multiple programs and exhibits nationwide, including in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Several topics were covered, including BRI’s Being an American, Gilded Age and Progressive Era, and Plainest Demands of Justice resources. BRI also exhibited at conferences for social studies organizations in Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>In early October, BRI conducted a weekend civics summit at James Madison’s Montpelier estate in Virginia. Teachers stayed at the estate and learned about BRI materials and activities and how to develop civil discourse strategies for their classrooms.</p>
<p>Attendees also toured the estate grounds and Madison’s home itself and viewed the desk where Madison sat and created the framework for the U.S. Constitution.</p>
<p>Place-based programs like Valley Forge and Montpelier provided a unique opportunity to explore BRI’s various curricula and model teaching strategies in historic locations. Teachers came from as far away as Kansas and Michigan to attend those programs.</p>
<p>BRI held a one-day seminar with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania on Oct. 21 in Philadelphia. It combined the Being An American, The Plainest Demands of Justice, and Documents of Freedom curricula to engage in primary documents and pedagogy modeling. Teachers at the seminar were also immersed in primary documents covering the Founding documents, African American agency in the 19th century, and immigration.</p>
<p>One teacher who attended the workshop said “my students and colleagues have been hearing about my amazing experience, as well as seeing my photographs of the wonderfully historic documents.”</p>
<p>“When I read the Pennsylvania Abolition Society census book of the free Blacks in Philadelphia, tears welled up in my eyes – but no tears fell on the priceless papers!” the teacher said. “I have never had a more moving experience in the 28 years that I have been a teacher.”</p>
<p>BRI finished October by partnering with the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, the Greater Johnstown (Pa.) School Districts, and The Tribune-Democrat newspaper for the <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/blog/pennsylvania-summit-shows-power-of-community-in-civics-ed">American Civics Education and Literacy Initiative Civics Education Summit</a>.</p>
<p>Teachers attended breakout sessions that ranged from using images and graphics in K-6 classrooms to running student-led Congressional simulations. BRI Director of Teacher & Student Programs Joe Schmidt showed attendees how to structure civil discourse around difficult classroom conversations, and they were also introduced to BRI’s MyImpact Challenge.</p>
<p>Want to learn more about future BRI events and workshops? Visit <a href="https://billofrightsinstitute.org/events">our Events page</a> for more information.</p>