The Florida Joint Center for Citizenship is hosting a one-day, project-based learning workshop for Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics teachers. FJCC’s Politics in Action is a project-based approach to learning that involves students engaging in political discourse and real-world scenarios to learn about U.S. government principles and policies. Participants will develop strategies to support students as they grapple with the complexities of the course content through a series of simulations designed to augment and enrich the learning environment.
The workshop will be held at the Lou Frey Institute Offices in Orlando on Saturday, May 14 from 8:30am-3:30pm. Space is limited to 30 participants and registration is a first come, first served basis. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and participating teachers will receive a $200.00 stipend.
Good morning friends. On behalf of our colleagues, we are happy to share this professional development opportunity!
Date: June 6th-11th, 2022* Location: Kennesaw State University
The Miner Anderson Family Foundation and the Division of Global Affairs at Kennesaw State University are pleased to announce the 2022 Education for Sustainability and Human Rights Program. Inspired by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 2030 Framework of Education for Sustainable Development, the seminars will foster dialogue among educators regarding linkages between global and local topics. Ultimately, the seminars aim to build a platform towards collaboration, curriculum development, and instruction for authentic student learning; so that young citizens may acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable lifestyles, cultural diversity, gender equality, and a culture of peace and non-violence through principles of human rights.
Our hope is by the end of the week, participants will authentically examine and integrate Human Rights as well as Sustainable Development issues & initiatives in their student’s educational experiences.
During this 6-day program, you will: -Learn about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals -Gain a deep understanding of the main principles in human rights education -Explore the attributes of global citizenship -Work with fellow teachers to develop ideas on how to implement these values in the classroom -Visit Atlanta’s Martin Luther King Jr. Center and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights
To register, please fill out this form. For guaranteed review of submission, applications must be received by May 6, 2022. As we receive applications, our criteria for evaluation will be on the basis of inclusion, equity and diversity. For inquiries, please contact the Division of Global Affairs at dga.engagement@kennesaw.edu.
Participants do have the option to attend the workshop virtually, but in-person participation is preferred.
*Please note that this free Teachers Seminar in Atlanta is open to all K-12 Teachers in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida & Alabama.
Good morning friends!!! As you may recall, we recently were awarded a grant by the FDOE to develop curricular materials in support of the new K-12 civics and government benchmarks. In pursuit of this, we are hiring multiple positions! We are looking for three 6-12 curriculum developers and one K-5 curriculum developer, for a grant-funded position that would run through September of 2023. Note that this would start ASAP. We would LOVE to have you join us!
Good afternoon, friends! We are excited to share this extension of our Civics in Real Life series, ‘Female Firsts’. Every week through the month of March, we will be sharing one page resources that discuss a significant figure, event, or location important to the role of women in civic life. Our first one is now available, and looks at Justice Sandra Day O’Connor!
Friends, on Thursday, March 3rd at 4pm, we will be hosting a webinar in collaboration with the Clinton Library. It is very much ‘of the moment’, as Kathleen Pate, Education Specialist at the Clinton Library, will be discussing the nomination and confirmation process of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is a free webinar open to everyone, and we would love to have you join us!
Good afternoon, friends. You are likely already familiar with our Civics in Real Life series over on Florida Citizen. We are quite please to share with you a new addition to the series (already expanded with our look at Supreme Court Cases, The Docket.
Introducing Civics Connection Spotlight! This new addition will focus on individuals or organizations that have made a significant civics connection through their efforts to create a better nation and live up to our Founding Principles. While these will have a Florida focus initially, we encourage you to take a look as we believe these folks are more than just important to civic life in Florida. Our first one is on the incredible Harry T. Moore.
We have some additional ones already sketched out and these will be released (tenatively) every Tuesday and Thursday this month. Be sure to check them out!
So some news, friends. You may be a user of our Florida Citizen website (we hope you are, it has most of what you need to teach civics!) , and if so we hope that you find our resources useful!
We recently relaunched the site, to better align with University of Central Florida style guides. Most of the material is the same but the look is different!
So as you can see here, we do need you to re-register on the site to access the materials, which of course remain free! Click the embedded video at the top of this post to learn about the registration process and some of the changes.
One of the new features we are excited about is in our Civics in Real Life section. It is now searchable by tag and subject! Just type in the civics content you are looking for and it will populate a list of one page Civics in Real Life resources, and you can preview without downloading.
Take a look and see what you find!
The site will continue to be updated over the next few weeks, and of course it all is free.
Looking for the lesson plans? Click resources, then Middle School Applied Civics Resources!
They are available there for you, so this should look familiar from our old site.
Hey friends, are you teaching K-12 social studies in Florida? Do you have experience with lessons and other curricular materials development (especially including videos)? Do you want to make some extra money? While we WILL be posting for multiple full time positions soon (watch this space!), we are ALSO offering stipends to those that may choose not to leave the classroom but still want to contribute to the development of K-12 civics and government resources relating to the 2023-2024 civics and government benchmarks!
If you are interested in getting on our outreach list for this, please complete this form by 14 February 22. Please note that we will need to get approval from the Florida Department of Education before providing the stipend opportunity, as this is a grant funded position. We are ESPECIALLY looking for folks with experience K-5! Hope to hear from you!
As school districts across the country continue to deal with the effects of Covid-19, the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship at the Lou Frey Institute is here to help! Below are some suggested uses of our resources that can assist districts/schools with teacher shortages and/or students who may need to learn from home. As a reminder, ALL of our resources are free to use and adapt for home or classroom use, in Florida and beyond.
This past weekend, your bloghost had the great pleasure to attend the inaugural National Civics and Debate Tournament in Orlando. This was an interesting and exciting event that featured about 150 middle and high school students from more than 25 schools spanning the breadth of Florida.
The effort itself is an expansion of Florida Debate Initiative, led by Beth Eskin and Tara Tedrow in central Florida. As they say,
So who was at the debate, and what did they have to do? Take a look at the competing schools!
The event featured students competing in four categories: Congressional Debate, Extemporaneous Debate, Impromptu Speaking, and Extemporaneous Sports Analysis. That latter category, Extemporaneous Sports Analysis, is an interesting one. This was the first debate tournament of any significance to feature this sort of activity as a competitive event. Students were given five minutes to do a ‘commentary’ or analysis of a particular sports related topic. For example, ‘will Messi ever win another championship’ or ‘will the influx of European players change the NBA’. Keep in mind that many of these students had very little knowledge of the sports involved, though they had some time to research and develop their arguments. And oh my goodness it was fun to watch! It was as if the students channeled the best of Stephen A. Smith.
Students competed in all of these categories throughout the weekend, and were able to relax and let off some of the stress and pressure with an ice cream social on Friday evening and civics trivia (which was quite fun!) on Saturday. And as you can see below, they did a great deal of work in this competition!
The top 15 middle school students and the top 5 high school students in each event were recognized (with the exception of Extemporaneous Sports Analysis, which was only open to high school students and the top 3 winners were recognized).
Ultimately, however, there can only be one overall winner at each grade span, and look at the size of the trophies featured below! Congrats to Simon Denahan of Kanapaha Middle School and Alex Vilhan of Lake Mary Prep for their wins.
Middle School Champion Simon Denahan, Kanapaha Middle School, Alachua County
High School Champion Alex Vihlan, Lake Mary Preparatory School, Seminole County
The opportunity for students to engage in civics and debate is an important one. We here at the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship at the Lou Frey Institute are so glad for the opportunity to support the entire civic literacy effort, including the debates.
Are you a Florida teacher or district leader interested in getting civics and debate into your school? This is a supported effort; the state will help you get it going! We encourage you to reach out to the wonderful Elizabeth Eskin, Director of the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative.
