Congressman John Lewis, from Apple.com

This past weekend, the nation lost a legendary civil rights leader in the passing of Congressman John Lewis. A passionate advocate of racial equality and civil rights, Congressman Lewis rose to prominence during the Civil Rights Movement, one of the leaders of the Freedom Rides, speaking at the 1963 March on Washington and playing a key role in the 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge out of Selma, a day which came to be known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ for the violence of the law enforcement response.

John Lewis was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi in 1961 as a consequence for his part in the Freedom Rides, sent to Parchman Penitentiary for using “white” restroom https://twitter.com/repjohnlewis/status/486142489527844865

Lewis’ speech at the March on Washington is worth a watch. Interestingly, his speech was rewritten literally at the last minute to tone down his powerful words.

Congressman Lewis was a paragon of civic engagement, a leader in the fight for justice, and a strong advocate for holding our nation to the ideals laid out in its Founding Documents. May we all learn from his example.

Good morning friends. This post is a reminder that the Florida K-12 Civics Standards are open for review (and the memo on this is available here: Civics Review dps-2020-48 (1)). If you want to have input on what kids should do and should know throughout the grade levels, please please please take part in the review.

Public input is encouraged through an online survey platform accessible at https://www.floridacivicsreview.org/.  This online platform provides all stakeholders with open access to participate in the review process until August 5, 2020. Stakeholders are required to provide user information before providing input.

You will have the opportunity to state whether the standards should be eliminated, revised, moved, or kept as is, and you may leave your own comments as well.

If you have any questions, please contact Michael DiPierro, Director of Standards, at Michael.DiPierro@fldoe.org or 850-245-9773.

Please take part in this important process. Civics is at the heart of the social studies, and let’s keep Florida’s strong civics heart beating, as a national leader in civics education.

Good morning, friends in Civics! Have you been keeping up with our Civics in Real Life materials? The most recent two CRL readings concern natural law and the social contract and consent of the governed. You can check out these and other readings over at Florida Citizen!

Consent of the Governed

Natural Law and the Social Contract

We hope that you find this, and others in the series, useful!

Check out the new series here. 

As a reminder, our topics so far have addressed

The Food and Drug Administration

Judicial Review

The Appointment Process

Tariffs

National Institutes of Health.

Government Task Forces.

The 2020 Census
Unemployment Insurance

The Defense Production Act

Essential Workers

The First Amendment

Government Power

Nongovernmental Organizations

Propaganda and Symbolism

The National Guard

The CARES Act

Primary Sources

Federalism in Action

The Preamble in Action

Executive Orders

the Common Good,

and Public Health and the Social Contract.

We hope that you will find these useful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at anytime! And don’t forget, you can find the ‘Civics in Real Life’ resource on the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship website here. Be sure also to check out Civics360 for videos and readings that explore additional civics concepts and ideas within a more traditional framework!

Without a doubt, it is the people that make an organization what it is. And we here at the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship at the Lou Frey Institute would not be what we are today without the hard work of the staff here. It is with that note that we wish our wonderful Professional Development director and all around fantastic civics educator, Peggy Renihan, the best of luck as she transitions to a new position in Bay County.

Peggy has worked at the Lou Frey Institute for more than a decade. In many ways, she IS the face of the Institute and FJCC in certain parts of the state. Her approach to both relationship building and working with teachers and districts, especially but not exclusively in the northern part of Florida, is one that will not be duplicated.

We wish we could keep her, and we envy Bay County for getting someone with such incredible talents and expertise. Peggy, thank you so much for all that you have done, for civics, for the Center and the Institute, and for your family here. You are appreciated beyond words, and our community will not be the same without you.

Good evening, friends. You are likely aware of our recent re-launch of the first three courses in our The Civics Classroom series.

Well, we just couldn’t wait until July 1st, so are excited to announce that A Constitutional Classroom is now open! This fourth course in the series, developed in collaboration with our partners at Bay District Schools, explores the underlying ideas of the US Constitution and is ‘hosted’ by Dr. Charles Flanagan of the National Archives’ Center for Legislative Archives!

A Constitutional Classroom will provide teachers with an understanding of:

• Major ideas in the U.S. Constitution,
• How to apply disciplinary literacy skills, and
• Preparing for instruction to make content accessible for all learners.

You can get info to register for the new course, and download the syllabus, over at Florida Citizen!

As the salesman on TV once said, but wait, that’s not all!

We have also completed and are now launching the first course in what we hope will be a strong and long series for high school US history! The High School US History: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era is, like A Constitutional Classroom, hosted by our friend Dr. Charles Flanagan from the National Archives’ Center for Legislative Archives and was developed in collaboration with our partners at Bay District Schools. 

The High School US History: Civil War and Reconstruction course will provide teachers with pedagogy, content, and resources for:

• the major ideas of the cause, course, and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era
• primary sources and disciplinary literacy
• strategies and structures for accessible learning

You can get info to register for the new course and download the syllabus at the course page on Florida Citizen.

But what about you folks in high school US Government? We have a new course for you as well!

The High School Government Classroom: Building Critical Knowledge course will provide teachers with pedagogy, content, and resources for:

• lesson planning and preparation in social studies
• the principles of American democracy
• the US Constitution
• Founding Documents
• Landmark Cases

For Florida teachers, this course is intended to help you prepare students for the new Civic Literacy Assessment. However, it also provides a basic foundation in US government content, pedagogy, and resources and aligns with the newHigh School US Government modules on Civics360! (And there will be a post on the launch of that new resource later!). 

You can get info to register for the course and download the syllabus over at, you guessed it, Florida Citizen.

We hope that you find these new courses beneficial!

Questions? Email Steve!

Good afternoon, friends in Civics. You may recall that we had previously offered a free online course series for civics teachers. While we remain proud of that initial iteration and are pleased with the outcomes, our most important goal is to always respond to the needs and desires of our stakeholders. As such, we are excited to announce that we are now enrolling folks into the newly revised and completely self paced The Civics Classroom Course Series! The course has been redesigned based on feedback from participants, and we believe it meets the needs of teachers much better.

Courses begin June 15, 2020.  A certificate of completion, for 5 hours of professional development, will be issued for each course successfully completed. While the first course, The Prepared Classroom, is especially designed for Florida civics teachers, the courses are free and open to all civics and government educators throughout the country.

You can download the above flier here: Civics_Classroom.

Courses open on June 15th, and you can enroll in any of the courses at any time! To learn more about each course (including access to the syllabi), or to enroll, head over to Florida Citizen. Questions? Shoot us an email! 

We have posted two more Civics in Real Life readings this week! The first looks at the National Institutes of Health. How is support for the general welfare reflected in the work of the National Institutes of Health?

The second reading explores Government Task Forces. How do these reflect Article II of the US Constitution?

We hope that you find this, and others in the series, useful!

Check out the new series here. 

As a reminder, our topics so far have addressed
The 2020 Census
Unemployment Insurance

The Defense Production Act

Essential Workers

The First Amendment

Government Power

Nongovernmental Organizations

Propaganda and Symbolism

The National Guard

The CARES Act

Primary Sources

Federalism in Action

The Preamble in Action

Executive Orders

the Common Good,

and Public Health and the Social Contract.

We hope that you will find these useful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at anytime! And don’t forget, you can find the ‘Civics in Real Life’ resource on the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship website here. Be sure also to check out Civics360 for videos and readings that explore additional civics concepts and ideas within a more traditional framework!

Well, it’s time for the Census! And today, we bring you a new Civics in Real Life reading on the 2020 Census and why it matters. How is it an obligation of government and a responsibility of citizens? Why should we complete it?

We hope that you find this, and others in the series, useful!

Check out the new series here. 

As a reminder, our topics so far have addressed
Unemployment Insurance

The Defense Production Act

Essential Workers

The First Amendment

Government Power

Nongovernmental Organizations

Propaganda and Symbolism

The National Guard

The CARES Act

Primary Sources

Federalism in Action

The Preamble in Action

Executive Orders

the Common Good,

and Public Health and the Social Contract.

We hope that you will find these useful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at anytime! And don’t forget, you can find the ‘Civics in Real Life’ resource on the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship website here. Be sure also to check out Civics360 for videos and readings that explore additional civics concepts and ideas within a more traditional framework!

With the new day comes a new Civics in Real Life reading ! Many of our kids, and maybe many of us, are dealing with the reality of family members who have lost jobs over the past couple of months. So today’s CRL looks at this question: What is the origin and purpose of unemployment insurance?

Check out the new series here. 

As a reminder, our topics so far have addressed

The Defense Production Act

Essential Workers

The First Amendment

Government Power

Nongovernmental Organizations

Propaganda and Symbolism

The National Guard

The CARES Act

Primary Sources

Federalism in Action

The Preamble in Action

Executive Orders

the Common Good,

and Public Health and the Social Contract.

We hope that you will find these useful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at anytime! And don’t forget, you can find the ‘Civics in Real Life’ resource on the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship website here. Be sure also to check out Civics360 for videos and readings that explore additional civics concepts and ideas within a more traditional framework!

Well hello there and good evening! Another new Civics in Real Life reading  is now available! What do you know about the Defense Production Act? Did you know it was used over 300,000 times last year? Check it out and learn how the DPA helps our nation meet its needs!

Check out the new series here. 

As a reminder, our topics so far have addressed

Essential Workers

The First Amendment

Government Power

Nongovernmental Organizations

Propaganda and Symbolism

The National Guard

The CARES Act

Primary Sources

Federalism in Action

The Preamble in Action

Executive Orders

the Common Good,

and Public Health and the Social Contract.

Upcoming resources will discuss the NIH, the Census, and Defense Production Act, among others. We hope that you will find these useful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at anytime! And don’t forget, you can find the ‘Civics in Real Life’ resource on the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship website here. Be sure also to check out Civics360 for videos and readings that explore additional civics concepts and ideas within a more traditional framework!