Encouraging civics in Delaware schools through the Democracy Project
On Wednesday, Senator Coons met with a group of social studies teachers from across Delaware to discuss civics education. The teachers were here in the Capitol as part of the University of Delaware’s Democracy Project Institute for Teachers. Chris was joined by Senator Carper and Congressman Carney as well, and the three fielded questions from the teachers about the Delaware delegation’s work in Congress and addressed the challenges that Delaware’s teachers, students and parents must work together to solve.
Drawing on his own high school experiences, Chris discussed how bullying and discrimination in our schools is not a new phenomenon. He acknowledged that combating bullying would not be easy and would have to be accompanied by a change in culture in many communities. Singling out an individual or group due to physical appearance, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation should not be acceptable in society and has no place in any of Delaware’s schools. New technology, such as instant messaging, social media, and text messaging has created another forum where bullying and discrimination can take place often undetected. Limiting abuses of these new technologies and combating the old forms of bullying requires hard work from teachers and parents to teach respect and tolerance – both in the classroom and at home.
Every student in Delaware, in public and private schools alike, has the ability to succeed, Chris told the group. He spoke about our responsibility to create an environment that allows all children to achieve their potential. Closing the achievement gap between the sexes, for minorities, and for those with learning disabilities is a goal shared by teachers, administrators, and policy makers alike. Chris plans to work with Senator Carper and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to promote substantial education reform, providing students and educators with the critical resources they need to help students succeed in an increasingly competitive workforce.
The Democracy Project is a teacher development program co-sponsored by the University of Delaware and the Delaware Department of State with the goal of improving the teaching of civics and social studies in Delaware schools. Over the past decade, its summer institute for teachers has brought 150 teachers to Washington to hear from elected officials and discuss ways to improve civics education and inspire active youth citizenship on the K-12 grade levels.
For more information about the Democracy Project, visit: http://www.ipa.udel.edu/democracy/institute/. To read more about Chris’ ideas for education reform, click here.