1st Annual Civic Learning Symposium

The 1st Annual Civic Learning Symposium is for teachers, faculty, students, national experts, and other interested stakeholders.

This annual symposium hosted by the Center for Economic and Civic Learning at Ball State University, supported by the U.S. Department of Education in alignment with the CREATE project convenes practitioners, teachers, and scholars to explore innovative and exceptional approaches to improve the quality of American civics instruction.

As an interactive symposium, teachers, faculty, administrators, and experts will present their innovative approaches to civics in the classroom. This event will also recap innovations and achievements during the previous year.

To see a draft schedule Click HERE

Time and location: August 25th (5PM – 8PM) and August 26 (9AM – 2PM) in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center at Ball State University.

Cost: Free

Dress: Casual

Meals: Dinner & Lunch provided.

The Remnant Trust, a Public Educational Foundation will display original copies of the Magna Carta (1350), Declaration of Independence (1776), Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights.

The Indiana Bar Foundation and the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site will be represented at the Symposium.

On Friday, August 25, at 5:00 p.m. the Symposium will begin with opening remarks by Indiana Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch. As Lieutenant Governor, Suzanne serves as the President of the Indiana Senate. Statutorily, the Lt. Governor oversees a portfolio that includes the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA), Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), and Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC). Additionally, she chairs the Roundtable on Mental Health, the Intellectual and Development Disabilities Task Force and the Civics Education Commission. Suzanne graduated from Mater Dei High School in Evansville. She went on to receive her Bachelor’s Degree from Purdue University, majoring in Political Science. She is married to Larry Downs and together they have a grown daughter, Courtney.

When asked about her work as Chair of a civic education task force, Lt. Gov. Crouch said, “We knew we had to do something to improve civic education and make it a priority, because that’s a fundamental component in a successfully functioning democratic republic,” she went on to note, “That’s how you make a community better and that’s how you make a country stronger” (Read the entire article here)

The Symposium will also feature remarks from Indiana Secretary of Education, Dr. Katie Jenner who leads the Indiana Department of Education.

This Symposium will also feature an interactive panel discussion with MCS Board Chair Jim Williams, and Provost Anand Marri.

The 1st Annual Civic Learning Symposium will feature a special Keynote Address by 2019 Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson a 23 year teaching veteran. He is a advocate for economic and cultural equity for all children.

Rodney became a teacher to honor his mother, who struggled to receive an education after being denied an education as a child due to segregation and poverty in rural Virginia. Robinson uses the whole child approach to education to help the students who are most vulnerable.

Rodney’s classroom is a collaborative partnership between himself and his students and is anchored in him providing a civic centered education . Robinson uses the knowledge he has gained from his students to develop alternative programs to prevent students from entering the school-to-prison pipeline.