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 COME TO THE 51ST ANNUAL CCSS CONFERENCE!
A MESSAGE FROM AVI BLACK CCSS PRESIDENT
Without a doubt, the annual conference is CCSS’s premier event and the one that many members view as the most valuable aspect of their CCSS experience. Yet not all may recognize just how enriching and renewing an experience conference attendance inevitably is.
After last year’s conference, we received several notes from first-time attendees attesting to that value. Here’s one second-grade teacher’s reflection:
“Wow! I am jazzed about teaching social studies and seeing first hand that social studies in California is alive and thriving… Like a 49er, I too traveled the high road to attend this unique conference.”
Another young credentialing candidate enthused: “I couldn’t have imagined how great it would be. It’s all about meeting people face to face.”
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Standing Up for Social Studies
Last month I provided you an update about a key piece of legislation that was unfortunately vetoed by Governor Brown; the Senate leader’s bill, SB 547, would have created the “Education Quality Index”, providing a broader view of a school’s performance than the current, limited fixation of the API (primarily English/Math). It was our hope and our intention to make sure that history and civic literacy, among other Social Studies areas, would have been included in a newly established “EQI”, given the importance of these subjects in the education and preparation of all students for their civic and economic responsibilities. Our efforts with SB 547, and those like it, are intended to alleviate the narrowing of curriculum pressures facing history/social science (“H/SS”).
In this article, I would like to take a more expanded view beyond the inner workings of Sacramento’s “legislative sausage mill.” It is my hope, which is shared by the CCSS leadership, that all of the readers of the Sunburst will get more involved in the defense of Social Studies. In this article, I would like to take a more expanded view beyond the inner workings of Sacramento’s “legislative sausage mill.” It is my hope, which is shared by the CCSS leadership, that all of the readers of the Sunburst will get more involved in the defense of Social Studies. It should not come as any news to you that the core placement
of our subject-matter is in jeopardy, and that this existential struggle is the direct result of
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 Why Juries? How are they selected and what do they actually do?
Because jury service affects us all--yes, even judges get called to serve--I thought I would use this first column to address jury service. I have noticed a stunning difference in the views of those who end up actually serving on a jury versus the group (we call them the “panel”) as they first appear in the court room. When the fifty or sixty folks first appear in my courtroom, many on the panel are anxious, sometimes upset to be called away from their daily personal and business routines.
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New Resource for Teachers
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To guide California educators in meeting the goal of preparing students for college, career AND citizenship, the Los Angeles County Office of Education has published an innovative resource, Preparing Students for College, Career and CITIZENSHIP: A California Guide to Align Civic Education and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects.
Click here to read the full document
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