News & Events
One-Day Workshop for We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
Martin Luther King Junior Day - Monday, January 19, 2009 (8:00 AM to 3:30 PM)
Old Sturbridge Village
Sturbridge, Massachusetts
PCo-sponsored by Old Sturbridge Village. articipans will receive a free classroom set of WTP textbooks, teachers guide, and lesson plans, as well as free admission to OSV. 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.
Civics Mosaic Project Hosts Visiting Bulgarian Teacher Exchange Fellows
For 12 days, including Election Day, the Civics Mosaic Project hosted two high school teachers from Bulgaria as part of this three-year exchange program that focuses on comparative civic education. Larisa Vasileva from the city of Pleven worked with her American counterpart, Mike Welch, who is chair of the social studies department at Cohasset High School. Larisa stayed with Mike and his family in Rockland, MA, and traveled daily to Mike's school, observing lessons on concepts of citizenship, culture, and national identity in the Bulgarian context. Georgi Gochev from the town of Dimitrovgrad was hosted by Steve Goode, a social studies teacher at the O'Bryant High School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury, MA. Aside from working in the schools the exchange team participated in local cultural events and historic tours of Boston, Lexington, and Concord, led by Professor Charles White, who is the coordinator of the Civitas Mosaic/Bulgaria partnership. |
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Bulgarians visit Prof. White's social studies methods class at B.U. From left: Mike Welch, Larisa Vasileva, Yuliya (interpreter), Georgi Gochev, and Steve Goode
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In the spring, Welch and Goode will travel to Bulgaria to continue the collaboration, which is designed to explore how fundamental civic concepts play out in diverse cultural and historical settings. Curriculum materials for teachers and an international online student journal will be produced as part of this project, which involves teachers from the U.S. and Russia, as well as five Eurasian countries, including Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. |
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Historic tour of American Revolution (Concord Bridge)
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Japanese Professor discusses Project Citizen with Charles White and Ellen Barber-Morse at the School of Education
On Election Day 2008, Shigeru Asanuma, a curriculum studies professor of Tokyo Gakugei University, conferred with Charles White and Ellen Barber-Morse on the use of Project Citizen in schools and universities. As Professor Asanuma explained, "I found the program in Mongolia and was impressed with its outstanding features. I have explored the procedures and outcomes of the program through the internet, but I need to know more details of the real pracices of the program in order to extend and implement the idea of the program in my work."
Professor Asanuma is a specialist in American curriculum at his university and serves as a consultant on project-based learning throughout Asia, including (most recently) in Mongolia. He found Project Citizen on the Projects in Civic Engagement website at SED and asked to meet about our work at the pre-college and college level. He viewed sample portfolios from White's BU's Project Citisen course (SED ED 225) and from a middle-school class with whom Barber-Morse had worked. |
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From left: Prof. Charles White (Projects in Civic Engagement Director), Prof. Shigeru Asanuma (Tokyo Gakugei University), and Ellen Barber-Morse (Massachusetts Coordinator, Project Citizen) |
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One-Day Workshop for We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
Friday, December 12, 2008 (8:00 AM to 4:00 PM)
John Adams Courthouse
One Pemberton Square, Boston, MA 02108
Participans will receive a free classroom set of WTP textbooks, teachers guide, and lesson plans. 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 We the People: Project Citizen (Levels I & II)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA
(9:00 AM - 3:00 PM)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
(9:00 AM - 3:00 PM)
Classroom teachers for grades 5-12 are invited to attend a one-day workshop (either in Sturbridge, MA or Boston, MA) 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 Ellen Barbe-Morse, Massachusetts Project Citizen State Coordinator at ProjCit@bu.edu or by phone at 617-358-0242.
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 |
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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).
Watch the video in Flash Player.
(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. |
