Joe Harmon

Before entering the classroom, Joe Harmon spent 13 years as a paramedic, an experience that informs his practical, service-minded approach to teaching. Now in his 22nd year at Redbank Valley High School in Western Pennsylvania, Joe teaches civics and U.S. history and champions the idea that civics is “the most important subject on campus.”

Joe builds civic knowledge as a scaffold for skills and dispositions. His students analyze current events and court cases, evaluate speeches and primary sources, and write to elected officials. In class, a living “constitution” invites students to propose amendments and vote, practicing civil dialogue and majority rule while protecting minority rights. “Democracy is an action word,” he tells them.

A Navy brat who settled in Pennsylvania, Joe is deeply involved in his local community and in school clubs that encourage student voice. He holds a master’s degree in education and believes civics education should cultivate empathy, evidence-based reasoning, and ethical leadership. “We want thoughtful, informed, engaged citizens,” Joe says. “Content matters, but so do the habits that sustain a free and just society.”