TOWAMENCIN – With civics and government education put on the backburner in many schools across the country, C-SPAN invited North Penn teacher Mr. Brian Haley to the Classroom Educators Conference on December 1.
Haley, a 12th grade U.S. government teacher, was one out of seventeen teachers chosen from across the United Stated to attend the conference. Using C-SPAN in his classroom on a regular basis, Haley took this opportunity to learn all the ins and outs of what C-SPAN has to offer in the field of education.
“I use C-SPAN a lot in my classes, but I probably, like the human brain, only use ten percent of it and the rest I did not know what or where it was,” said Haley.
During the conference, C-SPAN had a multitude of experts there to explain to the teachers how to use their video library, their C-SPAN in the classroom program, and their video explanations of the Constitution.
“Technology has never been my strong suit,” explained Haley, “so I thought attending the conference would cover a lot of areas and help me use their site more and gain access to everything they offer to help my students understand the material to the best of my ability.”
With the change of PSSA’s to Keystone tests, which will include a civics section of the test, North Penn students will now have to take a government class earlier than 12th grade and all social studies teachers will now have to teach some form of government and civics. Through the C-SPAN website and television stations, social studies teachers that do not teach a civics or U.S. government course will be able make a smooth transition to teaching the new material.
“It’s an incredible program for teachers because it puts everything in one space, helping them save time,” said Haley.
Now, with Haley’s help, North Penn social studies teachers will not have to reinvent the wheel as they prepare for the curriculum changes coming in the future.