Educator Activism

After a great lunch with the Mississippi Council on Economic Education (MCEE) - including the road trip to Jackson, MS, with an enthusiastic pre-service teacher, I possessed a renewed awareness of  just how important it is for us to be advocate for our subjects-area(s) and our profession.

For the better part of the past 18 years, I have been actively lobbying for stronger social studies education in my own part of the world.  Yesterday's luncheon reminded me of why I/we do what I/we do -- a well-spoken, energetic, articulate, seventh grader from Quitman County Middle School named Charlie Johnson.  Not just Charlie Johnson, but all of the Charlie Johnsons, and Esme Garcias, and Kelsey Smiths, and ...  you get the idea.

Better yet, there are those who value what I/we do as educators!  MCEE gave out cash prizes to teachers with exceptional lesson plans ($300, $500, and $1,000).  Students received prizes as part of their Young Entrepreneur program.  It didn't matter what side of the political aisle you were on yesterday, social studies education - specifically economic education - was important enough for about 500 people to spend too much on chicken, green beans and new potatoes to support the work of TEACHERS -- SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS!

This morning I ran across an older message in my over-full inbox with documents to support the SpeakUpForGeography.org campaign to raise support for the Teaching Geography Is Fundamental (TGIF) Act.  I already sent letters to my Congressmen, but I hadn't shared the word with the world.  This afternoon, I aimed to do just that!  I uploaded as many of the images and one of the videos to my Facebook page and to YouTube in hopes that someone else will share them with their friends.

We must "speak up" there are those who are waiting to hear from us!