{"id":33413,"date":"2024-07-26T18:19:23","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T22:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=33413"},"modified":"2024-07-29T18:47:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T22:47:08","slug":"riley-institute-program-for-south-carolina-teachers-enhances-civics-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/riley-institute-program-for-south-carolina-teachers-enhances-civics-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Riley Institute program for South Carolina teachers enhances civics education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eight social studies teachers from across South Carolina came to Furman July 12 to kick off a week-long immersive professional development experience hosted by The Riley Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Teachers of Government program<\/a>, now in its 19th<\/sup> year, is designed to enhance civic education in the state.<\/p>\n

\"Nine

Teachers of Government program participants at the National Archives, where they received hands-on professional training before touring the exhibits.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAll corners of public education have seen significant challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it\u2019s well known that teachers are burned out,\u201d said Liz Smith, professor of politics and international affairs, who runs the program. \u201cWe also know that democratic citizens are made, not born. This program aims to build the skills, knowledge and excitement among social studies teachers whose work with students is so vital to a functioning democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teachers of Government participants began the program with a full-day session at Furman, where they heard from a variety of faculty members on key subjects within their fields. Professor of Politics and International Affairs Danielle Vinson discussed media and polarized politics, while constitutional law expert Professor Teresa Nesbitt Cosby offered a lecture on the modern Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I was familiar with both topic prior to these sessions, Professors Vinson and Cosby provided further context and understanding to the intricacies of polarization and the Supreme Court that I am now able to use to help answer and guide students in class,\u201d said Kelsey Carter of Buford High School in Lancaster.<\/p>\n

Professors Glen Halva-Neubauer and Scott Henderson offered additional sessions on minority voting trends and teaching the Holocaust, respectively. Teachers also received a tour of Furman\u2019s campus during their stay to learn more about what the university could offer their college-bound students.<\/p>\n

The group then traveled to Washington, D.C., for a week, where they had the opportunity to tour Smithsonian museums, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and other sites. Teachers participated in hands-on professional development sessions with museum education specialists and learned about new resources they could use in their classrooms.<\/p>\n

\"Nine

Teachers of Government program participants at the Capitol, where they received a tour and got to go on the floor of the House of Representatives.<\/p><\/div>\n

The week in the nation\u2019s capital was also an opportunity to meet and bond with other like-minded teachers to exchange ideas and feel supported in their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite part of the program was being with people who are \u2018my people.\u2019 They love to study American history and government, and it\u2019s just been a lot of fun to tour with people who are as excited about everything as I am,\u201d said Kim White of Forrest Creek Middle School in Fort Mill.<\/p>\n

One highlight of the trip was a panel featuring Furman graduates Joseph Kennedy \u201915, Joe Fretwell \u201916, John Bleed \u201917, and Jackson Phillips \u201923. They discussed their path to their current D.C.-based jobs. Many said their high school social studies teachers sparked their initial interest in government and politics. An additional 15 Furman graduates joined the group for dinner after the discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to talk with Furman alumni who work on both sides of the aisle and hear their firsthand accounts of how items get through the U.S. government was refreshing and uplifting, especially when compared to the media\u2019s focus on heavily divisive issues and salacious headlines,\u201d said Sarah Olenchak of Busbee Creative Arts Academy in Cayce.<\/p>\n

Smith said, \u201cIt was heartwarming to see so many Furman graduates take time out of their busy schedules to support this program and incredibly special for teachers to hear from relatively recent graduates that what they do matters and changes the trajectory of young people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

An additional highlight of the trip was an extended tour of the Capitol, including an opportunity to be on the floor of the House of Representatives\u2014unique access that was not lost on the participants.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I\u2019ve been to D.C. several times, I don\u2019t think I could\u2019ve planned it in the way that this trip was planned\u2014seeing as many things as I did\u2026having tours that helped put things into perspective,\u201d said Stephanie Morris from Fairfield Central High School in Winnsboro. \u201cI think it would be beneficial for any teacher to have this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Four

Joe Fretwell \u201916, Joseph Kennedy \u201915, Jackson Phillips \u201923 and John Bleed \u201917 served as panelists on a discussion about their career paths to Washington, D.C., and their lived experiences working in American politics.<\/p><\/div>\n

Teachers of Government is held every summer. It\u2019s s open to all middle and high school South Carolina government teachers and is free for participants. The program honors former U.S. Secretary of Education Dick Riley \u201954 and his focus on both public education and civics as the bedrock of a healthy democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been such an honor to run this program for nearly 20 years and to carry on Secretary Riley\u2019s legacy in this way,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThis once-in-a-lifetime opportunity energizes teachers before they get back in the classroom and reminds them of the deep significance of their work to the health of our state and nation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Teachers of Government brought middle and high school teachers to campus and took them to Washington D.C. to hone civics education and foster a healthier democracy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":319,"featured_media":33418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,32,29],"tags":[740,2090,2913],"class_list":["post-33413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-politics-and-international-affairs","category-riley-institute","tag-civics","tag-riley-institute","tag-teachers-of-government"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/319"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33413"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33459,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33413\/revisions\/33459"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}