Good afternoon, friends! This is a public service announcement of sorts to encourage you to submit a proposal for the Florida Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference, held at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center in Orlandon this October!
We are expecting a great many excellent sessions, and of course the Lou Frey Institute/Florida Joint Center for Citizenship will be exhibiting there as well. So be sure to submit your proposal in any area of the social studies, and be sure to register to attend!
Good afternoon, friends! For Civic Learning Week, we were grateful to be joined by former Florida Congressman, Dennis Ross. Congressman Ross talked with us about civil discourse and student civic engagement. It’s one of my favorite webinars that we have done, and we hope that you enjoy it as well. And thank you Congressman Ross for joining us!
But civic learning never ends, does it? We all know and recognize that civic learning is a key part of life and the work that we do, and we have shared posts on our twitter accounts (@Loufreyinst and @FL_Citizen) that highlight some interesting research, events, and resources that we saw during the week. We want to make sure too though that we share some excellent support materials from our coalition partners in the CivXNow network!
The CivXNow Coalition, a project of iCivics, is a nonpartisan, ideologically diverse coalition of over 325 organizations who believe in you and this important work you do. In the spirit of Civic Learning Week, the coalition came together to share their classroom resources (lessons, curricula, and professional development) that embody the best of their work.
As a proud member of the CivXNow coalition, the Lou Frey Institute/Florida Joint Center for Citizenship is happy to collaborate across the coalition to share these resources with you! We’ve partnered with organizations who, like us, want to champion civic education. Here you’ll find lessons and activities from Earth Force, Inquiring Minds, Emerging America – Reform to Equal Rights, KQED, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, the Lou Frey institute, New American History, and Periodic Presidents.
Save these links, and use them! We are proud of the work our fellow members of the coalition have done, and we look forward to continue collaboration on civic learning throughout the year!
Good afternoon friends. Next week is Civic Learning Week, and we wanted to take a few minutes and share with you some resources to support student civic learning and engagement.
Teachers Advacing Civic Learning
First of all, here at the Lou Frey Institute and our Florida Joint Center for Citizenship, we believe in the power of elevating the voices of educators in advocating for civic learning policy at the local, state, and federal levels. A new initiative, Teachers Advancing Civic Learning, has launched and it is a great opportunity to grow as a civics advocate and educator! You can learn more about the TACL initiative (Teachers Advancing Civic Learning) at its newly launched website.
Webinar With Congressman Dennis Ross
We would also like to remind you of our upcoming webinar featuring former Florida Congressman Dennis Ross! We will discuss student civic enagement, civil discourse, and other issues important to civic learning and life! You can sign up here, as registration is required. Please feel free to share the link and the flyer!
This is a great opportunity, and we encourage you to attend in person if you can and virtually if you cannot! U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett will join the Civic Learning Week National Forum on March 12, 2024, livestreamed from Washington, D.C. Showcasing the Justices’ shared commitment to high-quality civic education, the featured conversation will be moderated by Eric Liu, Co-Founder and CEO of Citizen University, and address student questions about the judicial system and civic engagement, as well as the Justices’ legal career paths. The discussion will highlight the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions gained through civic education, and why civics is essential to sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States.
There will also be some other fantastic events during the forum, including talks on information literacy and bridging the divide brought about by political polarization, among others. Hope to ‘see’ you there! You can register for the livestream here! If you can get to DC, you can register to attend in person here!
Good afternoon, friends! We are excited to invite you to join us on March 11th at 5pm for a Civic Learning Week conversation with former Florida Congressman Dennis Ross. Congressman Ross will talk with us about moving from critic to collaborator, the importance of civil discourse, and why we must ensure that the next generation engages in civic life.
You can download the flyer below to learn more information and to share, and you can register here!
Good afternoon friends! As we approach Women’s History Month, be sure to check out the many different Civics in Real Life resources and grade level lesson plans we have that cover the impact that many different women have had on our civic life and history! Download the flier below to learn more, or visit Florida Citizen to explore the resources!
So, some folks may be aware that we have been providing mostly weekly resources around civics concepts and current events the past couple of years. This post is an opportunity to highlight some older and some newer CRL’s that you might find useful in thinking about how to touch on current events with your students. Please also keep in mind that you can easily search the database to see if there is a concept or event you are looking for. You can always email us if you want one created and see if it’s on our drawing board!
If you missed our summer workshops, join us for a condensed version next week! We will have separate sessions for K-5, 6-8, and 9-12! Of course it’s free, and we will go over the new benchmarks, resources, and answer any questions that you may have! Click the links below to sign up, and PLEASE SHARE!
Good afternoon friends! Just wanted to share some pictures and info from this past weekend’s Civics Summit, a collaboration between SPHERE, the Jack Miller Center, and the Lou Frey Institute.
The agenda was content rich and focused on the four competencies of the Florida Civic Literacy Examination. You can check out the agenda below!
We had more than 50 participants from across the state of Florida, who had the opportunity to talk with renowed professors and educators sponsored by SPHERE, the Jack Miller Center, and the Lou Frey Institute. And thanks too to LFI staff members and curriculum developers Kimberly Garton and Elizabeth Wood for helping support the effort and FJCC Associate Director Chris Spinale for being the lead LFI contact!
The morning keynote on Saturday focused on Founding Principles, and was led by Dr. Alberto Coll of DePaul College of Law.
Additional sessions across the remaining three competencies were led by Dr. Lee Trepanier of Samford University; Tom Kelly, J.D., of Jack Miller Center; Allan Carey of SPHERE; Dr. Danton Kostandarithes of JMC; Dr. Steve Masyada of the Lou Frey Institute; and Joshua Katz, J.D. of the Cato Institute’s Levy Center for Constitutional Studies. Following each pair of competencies, participants had the opportunity to collaborate and discuss challenges, strategies, and implementation for each of the competencies.
The day finished up with provider sessions, where SPHERE, the Jack Miller Center, and LFI had the opportunity to discuss their resources and supports.
It was an excellent couple of days, all told. If you are interested in more information on what these organizations have to offer, feel free to contact our friends at JMC, SPHERE, and of course here at LFI.
On September 8th and 9th, the Lou Frey Institute will be hosting our friends from SPHERE and the Jack Miller Center for a summit relating to civic education, with a particular emphasis on the 4 competencies of the Florida Civic Literacy Examination.
The Jack Miller Center, Lou Frey Institute, and Sphere Education Initiatives will feature constitutional and pedagogy scholars who will discuss the core content of the competencies and methods of addressing it with students. This two day program is for social studies supervisors and one of their teachers. The program will be held at the University of Central Florida’s College of Community Innovation and Education’s Morgridge Reading Center and Teaching Academy. Invitees will receive free books and materials, as well as a $200.00 stipend. The program will begin at 5:00pm, Friday, September 8, with a reception and sit down dinner, followed by a keynote address by:
Saturday, September 9, will be in the Teaching Academy from 7:15am-4:30pm, and feature the scholars and speakers as they engage the audience through panels and small group discussions. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Registration is limited to the first 100 participants, and registration is open until filled.