NC Civic Education Consortium Workshops

Educators!  Before you start packing up your classrooms for the summer, check out these great professional development opportunities from the CEC.  Both trainings (Challenges to Democracy & 2012 Local Government Seminar) include: FREE lesson plans, mileage reimbursement, meals, access to scholarly seminars on AND hotel accommodations for those traveling more than 120 miles round-trip.

1.     Challenges to Democracy – The Warren A. Nord Teachers’ Seminar
Dates: July 16 – 18, 2012
Hosted at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Government

Lee Hamilton said regarding American democracy, “Our democracy is not a product but a continual process. It is preserved not by monuments but deeds. Sometimes it needs refining; sometimes it needs amending; sometimes it needs defending. Always, it needs improving.” The Program in the Humanities & Human Values at UNC-Chapel Hill & the NC Civic Education Consortium are offering teachers the opportunity to analyze our democracy via a unique, three day exploration of the theme “Challenges to Democracy.” Through assorted lectures led by renowned professors and historians, participants will investigate the ways in which democracy has struggled and changed throughout various time periods.  From scrutinizing a 1700s democracy that claimed “All men are created equal” while enslaving thousands of people, to discussing our democracy’s growing diversity, twenty participants will have a unique opportunity to examine our nation’s democratic principles through the lens of history and current events.  Throughout the scholarly exploration of these topics, participants will also learn pedagogical strategies for teaching these issues in the middle and high school classroom.

To view the agenda and to register for this terrific opportunity, click here.

2.     2012 Local Government Seminar: What Does Local Government Do and How Do I Get My Students to Care?

Dates: August 9 &10, 2012

Hosted by the City of Durham and the NC City & County Management Association

Every day, local government touches the lives of North Carolinians and provides the services essential for functional communities, growing businesses, and healthy families.  It is local government that supplies water to our faucets, collects our trash, moves traffic through our downtowns, and cuts the grass in our parks and ball fields.  It is also local government that delivers care and counseling to those facing difficult times and responds with qualified personnel to life’s emergencies.

Participants in this seminar will learn first-hand the role of local government in North Carolina and then explore pedagogical strategies for teaching young people about how local government in North Carolina works.  Highlights of the Seminar will include: meeting with elected and appointed local government officials, attending a Durham Bulls baseball game, and MUCH MORE!!  

To register for this unique opportunity, click here.

Be sure to check out these other exciting opportunities from some of our partners at the University of North Carolina

1.     The New NC Essential Standards: Incorporating the European Union

Registration Deadline: June 1, 2012

Training Dates: June 14^th (Chapel Hill) & June 15^th (Charlotte Area)

Registration Fee: $40

Join your colleagues for a 1-day workshop (8:30am - 5:00pm) designed to help North Carolina K-12 teachers better understand our interconnected world by learning more about the European Union. This workshop will include presentations on the European Union and transatlantic relations, along with sessions on how to incorporate the EU into the new NC Essential Standards. Teachers will also learn about resources that use technology to enhance content and better integrate the EU into the school’s curriculum. One CEU will be awarded for completion of the program.

For more information about this great training, visit the UNC Center for European Studies & European Union Center of Excellence’s website.