Scholarship Recipient Expresses Gratitude To BRI
<p><em>By Elizabeth Summerlin</em></p>
<p>My goal as a history teacher has always been to have students make meaningful connections to the past. I strive to have students understand that the basic human experience is one that connects us all, even across time.</p>
<p>At the most basic level, a timeless connection among us is that we all want to be seen, heard and appreciated. My classroom is premised upon the idea of this humanistic connection: connection to each other, connection to the past, and connection to ideas.<br />Through the Bill of Rights Institute and the Gary Colletti Conference Scholarship, I was able to attend the National Council for Social Studies conference for the first time.</p>
<p>This experience provided me with incredible resources and information to help enliven and support my instructional goals of having students make meaningful connections to the world in which they live. From talks from the esteemed Doris Kearns Goodwin regarding leadership to simulations on democratic and civic decision-making and breakout sessions on watershed events regarding how grassroots interventions altered our nation’s history, the conference empowered me with invaluable information to help me continue to forge connections among my students, whether to the past or interpersonal.</p>
<p>I see BRI’s dedication to promoting civic education and awareness as fully aligned with the instructional goals of my classroom. Their support will support the individuals in my classroom for years to come. I appreciate their work to promote civic education and intelligence for young people who will shape our future.</p>
<p><em>Elizabeth Summerlin teaches history at Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, GA. She is also a recipient of the Bill of Rights Institute’s Gary Colletti Conference Scholarship.</em></p>