News & Events

History and Civic Education: The Learning of Liberty for Civic Life Boston University School of Management, 4th Floor Historian Gordon Wood - Keynote Speaker Thursday, May 8

The conference explored the challenge of preparing citizens to embrace liberty and to exercise it for the common good, both in the United States and in emerging democracies abroad. Pulitzer Prize winning historical Gordon Wood served as keynote speaker. Conference participants learned about Projects in Civic Engagement, which aim to apply core principles of liberty and democracy to the education of citizens in the U.S. and abroad. These projects include We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, We the People: Project Citizen, Civitas International (Russia partnership), and Civics Mosaic (Eurasia).

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(This video is approximately 1 hour, 54 minutes long.)


One-Day Workshop for WTP: Project Citizen
Massachusetts State House, Room 437
25 Beacon Street
Boston, Massachusetts
Friday, March 7 (9:00 AM – 3:00 PM)

Classroom teachers for grades 5-12 are invited to attend a one-day workshop on the use of We the People: Project Citizen with their students. The workshop features lesson demonstrations and a chance for participants to experience the program as their students would. It also includes advice on how to implement the program in classrooms and youth groups. Participants will be able to order a free set of classroom texts, a teacher’s guide, and correlations to the Massachusetts frameworks in history/social science and in language arts. PDPs and substitute reimbursement are available. Lunch will be provided. First come, first served; the workshop is limited to the first 15 registrants.

To register, or for more information, please contact Diane Palmer and Ellen Barber, Massachusetts Project Citizen State Coordinators at ProjCit@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.


Chatham High School Wins State Finals
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
Saturday, January 26, 2008
John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse
Boston, Massachusetts

Students from Chatham High School were the winners in this year’s state finals for We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution and will represent Massachusetts at the national We the People competition to be held on May 2-6 in Washington, D.C. Highly competitive teams from other schools also participated, including the Millbury High School and Worcester Academy. A  multi-school team representing the M.I.T. Educational Studies Program also fielded competitors in 3 of the 6 WTP units. Students had studied for months to prepare for their role as experts testifying on constitutional issues in a simulated congressional hearing. That effort culminated on Saturday, January 26, at the state finals at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston.

During the closing ceremony, State Coordinator Roger Desrosiers read excerpts from a speech written by Professor John Patrick of Indiana University, a scholar long associated with civic education both in the U.S. and overseas. The speech was followed by a panel representing WTP teachers, parents, and alumni reflected on the WTP experience in light of Patrick’s speech.
Read a copy of the speech.

For more information, please contact Roger Desrosiers, Massachusetts We the People State Coordinator at WTPMass@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.


One-Day Workshop for WTP: The Citizen and the Constitution
Old Sturbridge Village
Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Martin Luther King Day
Monday, January 21, 2008 (9:00 AM to 3:00 PM)

Co-sponsored by Old Sturbridge Village, the theme of this workshop will be “The Abolitionist Movement in the early 19th Century, Slavery, and the Constitution.” Participants will receive a free classroom set of WTP textbooks, teachers guide, lesson plans, as well as free admission to OSV, where participants will “meet” Abigail Kelly, Frederick Douglass, and Rev. Wilbur Fiske. PDPs are available. First come, first served, the workshop is limited to the first 20 registrants.

To register, or for more information, please contact Roger Desrosiers, Massachusetts We the People State Coordinator at WTPMass@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.


“The World We Want” Documentary Focuses on Project Citizen Around the World
Independent film producer and former Disney executive Patrick Davidson is producing a documentary film about students around the world participating in the Center for Civic Education’s “Project Citizen” international civic education program. The film highlights students using the democratic process to make a positive difference in their communities and countries. The feature-length documentary will premiere around the country in early 2008.

To view an 18-minute trailer for the upcoming documentary, click on the following link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6543261109283995034


Two-Day Workshop for WTP: The Citizen and the Constitution
Cape Codder Resort
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Friday, October 26 (12 noon) to Saturday, October 27 (2:00 PM), 2007

Elementary and secondary teachers are invited to attend a two-day workshop on the use of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution with their students. Participants will stay at the lovely Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis. Lodging for Friday night and meals will be provided for free, along with a free classroom set of textbooks, teachers guide, lesson plans, and the opportunity to work with a Constitutional scholar. PDPs are available. First come, first served, the workshop is limited to the first 20 registrants.
To register, or for more information, please contact Roger Desrosiers, Massachusetts We the People State Coordinator at WTPMass@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.


One-Day Workshop for WTP: Project Citizen
Cape Codder Resort
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Friday, October 26 (9:00 AM – 3:00 PM)

Classroom teachers for grades 5-12 are invited to attend a one-day workshop on the use of We the People: Project Citizen with their students. The workshop features lesson demonstrations and a chance for participants to experience the program as their students would. It also includes advice on how to implement the program in classrooms and youth groups. Participants will be able to order a free set of classroom texts and a teacher’s guide. PDPs and substitute reimbursement are available. First come, first served, the workshop is limited to the first 15 registrants.

To register, or for more information, please contact Diane Palmer and Ellen Barber, Massachusetts Project Citizen State Coordinators at ProjCit@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.


Chatham Middle School Willl Represent Massachusetts at the National Project Citizen Showcase
Friday, June 8, 2007
Massachusetts State House
Boston, Massachusetts

Students from Cindy Macomber’s Chatham Middle School class will represent Massachusetts at the national We the People: Project Citizen showcase at the National Conference of State Legislatures to be held on August 5-9 in Boston, MA. Macomber’s students presented a portfolio that advocated expanding the music curriculum in Chatham Schools. Highly competitive teams from other schools also participated, including four teams from Plymouth Intermediate School, two additional teams from Chatham Middle School, Bedford High School, and a 5th-grade team from Forest Avenue Elementary School in Hudson. Trophies for outstanding oral presentation were awarded to Ms. Macomber’s team and to Rachel Barnes’ Chatham Middle School students, who presented a plan to set a later opening time for schools.
Supporting the fine efforts of these students was State Representative Michael Rush, who encouraged students to maintain their involvement in civic affairs.

For more information, please contact Diane Palmer, Massachusetts Project Citizen State Coordinator at ProjCit@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.


Landmark University Course on Civic Engagement
As a means to promote civic engagement among college students, Boston University’s School of Education is offering the country’s first for-credit university course on Project Citizen. The course is open to all Boston University students, regardless of discipline.

The course addresses multiple needs. First, it aims to contribute to greater involvement in public policy monitoring and development by university students. Second, the course will equip students, from across the university, with the knowledge and skills necessary to serve as Project Citizen Mentors in area schools, working with teachers and their students on Project Citizen projects. Third, as with other new courses recently launched by the School of Education, the Project Citizen course is designed to encourage university students to consider careers in teaching. The course was developed by Diane Palmer, Massachusetts Project Citizen State Coordinator and by Charles White, Director of Projects in Civic Engagement and associate professor in the School of Education.

For more information about the course, contact Charles White at cswhite@bu.edu or by phone (617-353-8482).

Northeast Regional Conference on the Social Studies Highlights Democracy in Action
Monday, March 12 through Thursday, March 15
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers
Boston, Massachusetts

The 38th Northeast Regional Conference on the Social Studies (NERC) will shine its spotlight on citizenship education at its upcoming meeting in Boston. Projects in Civic Engagement has been working closely with conference organizers to enrich this theme for elementary and secondary teachers who will be attending the meeting – the largest national conference on social studies other than the annual NCSS conference.

There will be sessions devoted to We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution as well as WTP: Project Citizen. The conference will also have a strong international dimension, thanks to the Civitas network of partners. Civitas/Russia, a PCE project, is hosting two prominent Russian educators who will participate in a plenary session, as well as individual sessions, on the state of civic education around the world. They will be joined by educators from Croatia, Chile, Senegal, and others. Registered conference participants are invited to attend a reception sponsored by the Center for Civic Education in honor of our international guests on Wednesday evening, March 14.

For information about the conference and registration materials, see the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies website at www.masscouncil.org.

Chatham High School Wins State Finals
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
Saturday, January 27, 2007
John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse
Boston, Massachusetts

Students from Chatham High School were the winners in this year’s state finals for We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution and will represent Massachusetts at the national We the People competition to be held on April 28-30 in Washington, D.C. Highly competitive teams from other schools also participated, including the Academy of Notre Dame (Tyngsboro), Bedford High School, Millbury High School, The Williston-Northampton School (Easthampton), and Worcester Academy. Students had studied for months to prepare for their role as experts testifying on constitutional issues in a simulated congressional hearing. That effort culminated on Saturday, January 27, at the state finals at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston.

Supporting the fine efforts of these students were two prominent guest speakers: Commissioner of Education David Driscoll and Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray.

For more information, please contact Roger Desrosiers, Massachusetts We the People State Coordinator at WTPMass@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.

Bahrain Educators meet with Charles White and Diane Palmer at the School of Education
Five educators at the forefront of civic education in Bahrain met on September 15 at the School of Education with SED Associate Professor and Projects in Civic Engagement Director Charles White, and Diane Palmer, Massachusetts Coordinator for Project Citizen.

The presence of civic, citizenship, and human rights education in the Bahrain school curricula are viewed as keystones for fostering civic participation in democratic institutions. The Bahrain Ministry of Education recently committed to expanding the scope of civic education at all grade levels.

During their visit to the United States, the group hopes to observe the role that civic education plays in promoting ethics, tolerance, and citizenship in a multicultural society; discuss the roles played by governmental and nongovernmental partners in designing curricula and setting standards; investigate community-school initiatives; and examine the tools for investing peers, parents, students, and the community in the process of civic education. The Bahraini delegation is traveling in the United States under the auspices of the International Visitor Leadership Program of the United States Department of State.

Front row, from left: Dr. Abdulghani Ali Abdulla (co-author for Bahrain civics textbooks), Mr. Abdulaziz Salman Al Banna (Education advisor, Bahrain Ministry of Education), Mr. Othman Majed Al Majed (curriculum specialist for Bahrain Ministry of Education).

Back row, from left: Mrs. Safeya Khalifa Al Shurooqi (Senior Curriculum Specialist for Social Studies for Basic Education), Mrs. Wajeeha Radhi Al Faraikh (specialist in teaching supervision), Prof. Charles White (Projects in Civic Engagement director), Diane Palmer (Massachusetts Coordinator, Project Citizen).