We Owe Our Deepest Appreciation to Our Nation’s Civics and History Teachers

MAY 02, 2021

As we approach the end of the 2020-2021 school year, we owe our nation’s civics and history teachers our deepest gratitude. This has undoubtedly been one of the most challenging school years in recent memory for all teachers, but amid cascading social and political crises, it has been particularly challenging for those who teach about our history and system of government. Civics and history teachers deserve special recognition and appreciation for a job well done through such uncertain times. 

Together, iCivics, Facing History and Ourselves, the Bill of Rights Institute, National Constitution Center, the Center for Civic Education, the Ashbrook Center, Generation Citizen, and Mikva Challenge want to send this message of gratitude to civics and history teachers across the nation.

Thank you for your perseverance this year. Thank you for prioritizing the well-being and growth of your students, for navigating complex and challenging, but meaningful conversations on current events, while still guiding your students through the core curriculum. Thank you for continuing to cultivate informed, engaged civic participants, especially when our civic and political climate was so tense. And thank you for continuing to build equitable and inclusive learning experiences for all students, especially when classroom learning was disrupted or moved fully online.

Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. We’ve been listening to you and watching with awe as you work—and we’ve been taking notes. Here is what we have learned from you this year:

• We need to be steadfast in the support of our nation’s students and teachers, inside and outside of the classroom.
• We need to be dedicated to lifting up and connecting with our colleagues both  within and outside of our fields.
• We need to work to ensure that you are supported in your mission to teach about our history and our form of government, even when it’s thorny and controversial.
• We need to continue to provide you with the resources that make your job easier and meet the needs of your evolving classrooms.  
• We need to be relentless in our work of building a sustainable future of our constitutional democracy through the prioritization of civics and history in our nation’s classrooms. 
• We need to continue to work with teachers and students who want to build equitable and inclusive classrooms for all students.
• We need to continue to listen to you.

We promise you this: It did not go unnoticed that you rose above the challenges faced during an unprecedented school year. As always, your students learned so much from you, and so did we. Thank you for you for your service and dedication to your profession and to our constitutional democracy.

Signed with profound gratitude,