It was the fourth week of the LEAP Center’s annual “Citizenship Preparatory Class,” and it was an enjoyable one. While we focused primarily on the 20th and 21st centuries, the week marks the end of the formal curriculum. It also means the participants and volunteers have had four weeks to get to know each other, collaborate, and become a community within a community.
This week moved through World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Participants also discussed the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower, the events of September 11, 2001, and Martin Luther King Jr.. Included in this broad discussion was the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, as well as peripheral discussions such as the photographer Dorothea Lange and artist Norman Rockwell.
History was not confined to the lesson materials. Participants examined $5, $10, and $20 bills, identifying the people pictured on the front and the buildings shown on the back. The exercise turned everyday objects into a way to review American leaders and landmarks. It also gave participants another way to remember details that can be easy to mix up when studying a long list of civics questions.
There was more interactivity in this week than in past week’s, with volunteers quizzing the participants, and sometimes the participants quizzing each other. As always, there was a lot of support when the participants answered correctly.
As a nice surprise, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and the College of Education were hosting a joint event, and they stopped by to collaborate and encourage.
Perhaps more important, the volunteers and participants have mixed together well, building a strong community within a community and a foundation of knowledge, a microcosm of the course’s purpose.
Many thanks to Cory Colby, Derrick Birdsall, Dr. Larry Cook, Dr. Tori Hallas, Dean. Abbie Strunc, Angie Dupree, National Partnership for New Americans, Naturalize Now, and Dr. Jaime Coyne for their efforts in educating the community on the importance of civics.
