2022 Summer Institute brings together Missouri teachers for networking, education

Each year, The Missouri Bar Citizenship Education Department brings together teachers from across the state who specialize in American history, government, and civics for an intensive training program. This year’s institute was held June 27-29 with the theme, “Power in the American republic: The framer’s plan and history’s response.” 

Dr. Tony Simones, the program’s director, was excited that it was possible to bring the instructors together in person since the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic made it imperative to move to a distance-learning format.  

As in previous years, Simones collaborated with veterans of prior institutes, Nisan Chavkin and Russ Sackreiter, to design interactive sessions and develop materials. Missouri’s participating teachers were able to walk through the same activities they would be presenting to their students while brainstorming ideas and troubleshooting the challenges of approaching difficult topics in today’s political environment – problems that are often confronting teachers directly. 

Ryan Kaden, a U.S. history teacher at Schuyler R-1, uses the material from the institutes on a weekly basis in his classroom.  

“The content and strategies that we learn are fantastic and the session on federal agencies made a tough topic interesting and accessible,” Kaden said. “The networking and social interaction from the in-person institutes are just as important. Teaching can be a lonely business. The summer institutes create a family of sorts that can be relied on for everything from curricular support in the classroom to social support outside of it.” 

Becky Rose, with Belle High School in the Maries R-II School District, was also complimentary of the Summer Institute.  

“The awesome materials and great activities will all be used in my classes this year,” she said. “The activities really help students connect with the information and help them learn critical thinking skills that are necessary for success today. “ 

Visit MissouriLawyersHelp.org for more information about upcoming educational training and teacher resources made available by The Missouri Bar Citizenship Education program.