NEARLY 80 TEACHERS FROM ACROSS TENNESSEE VISIT THE BAKER SCHOOL FOR TENNESSEE CIVICS ACADEMY
The Institute of American Civics (IAC) housed at the Howard H. Baker, Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs (Baker School) welcomed nearly 80 K-12 educators representing 31 counties for the Tennessee Civics Academy on June 25 and 26.
In its second year, the Tennessee Civics Academy is a two-day professional development conference, providing space for K-12 educators to discuss ways to foster and teach topics in civic education and to nurture civic engagement and viewpoint diversity among Tennessee’s youth.
“The Civics Academy is a highlight of the year for us. We’re honored that so many teachers appreciate the opportunity to spend part of their summer with us,” IAC Executive Director Joshua Dunn said. “It’s also extremely encouraging. While we’re facing many civic challenges as a country, you can’t help but be hopeful about our future knowing that they are helping shape the next generation of leaders.”
The program alternated between panel discussions and academic presentations. Baker School faculty presented on The Constitution of the United States, highlighting freedom of religion, the Fourth Amendment as it applies to education, and the Tennessee Constitution. Educator panel discussions covered topics including teaching during a presidential election year and strategies for getting students excited about civics. There was also a panel featuring community business leaders that discussed civics and the private sector, as well as presentation and moderated discussion by Tennessee State Board of Education Deputy Executive Director Michael Deurlein.
Baker School Dean Marianne Wanamaker and University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Probasco Chair of Free Enterprise Claudia Williamson Kramer presented a session entitled “Teaching Economics, Contemporary Issues, and U.S. Government using the 2024 Presidential Election.” Wanamaker and Kramer opened their session with a blind taste test, comparing Coca-Cola produced in the United States with that which is produced in Mexico. The experiment illustrated how economic policy can impact daily life. In this case U.S. government subsidies have made it cheaper to use corn syrup to sweeten products versus sugar.
“The Tennessee Civics Academy is a lot different than other professional development for teachers. It is cool because you get to interact with other teachers, but you also get a lot of experts,” said Staci Parvin, a teacher at Hardin Valley Academy. “I feel like we don’t normally get a lot of content experts. I enjoy this the most because it is up-to-date government information that I can go and share with my students.”
In addition to the sessions at the Baker School, attendees were also treated to an academy partner reception, dinner, and keynote talk by IAC Associate Director of Outreach Bill Lyons, who also served in Knoxville City Government for many years. Lyons discussed the rebirth of downtown Knoxville, specifically the private/public collaboration to redevelop Market Square. Fittingly, the dinner coincided with a perfect example of how this project has impacted the area as the parade and celebration for UT’s College World Series Champion Volunteer Baseball team was taking place in Market Square at the same time. Following the dinner, attendees were invited to walk over to tour the Museum of East Tennessee History.
The program was developed and facilitated by IAC Educational Outreach Program Manager Frankie Nicole Weaver with the assistance of UT student leaders and 15 high school student interns. There is no cost to attend.
“It is also just inspiring, especially interacting with UT students and the high school student interns, to get their perspective and have interactions with them,” Parvin said. “It helps us see ways to integrate and do things differently in our classroom. So, you have teachers, students and professionals all here at the conference. It is a really cool environment.”
Contact Weaver (fweaver1@utk.edu) for more information about future IAC educational outreach initiatives.
Established through a bipartisan legislative mandate, the Institute of American Civics aims to strengthen civic engagement and combat political polarization in our state and nation. It is designed to build on the University of Tennessee’s capabilities in politics, economics, philosophy, American history, and American government. In addition to the Civics Academy, the IAC programming includes courses, a civics minor, student internship programs, special events and public programming, scholarly activity and research, and guest lectures.