Museum of the Moving Image Director Carl Goodman, right, reviews material with some students at the group’s previous seminar at Queens College in 2010. Photo courtesy Michael Krasner
The Taft Institute for Government teamed up with the Museum of the Moving Image to assemble the event for teachers at the kindergarten level through high school, zeroing in on the 2014 elections and democracy in the United States.
Michael Krasner, a political science professor at Queens College and co-director at Taft, said the seminar was established to provide teachers with the latest in teaching techniques with an emphasis on interactive learning. By using the latest political science research, the seminar set out to improve the way civics is taught at the high school level.
“Teachers would come away with both cutting edge teaching methods and with the most up to date information about voting trends, power relations, civil liberties and more,” Krasner said. “The third leg of our three legged stool is to bring teachers into direct contact with political practitioners, especially elected officials, in part to challenge the teachers’ own cynicism, in part to give them a chance for direct dialogue.”
Teachers who take the seminar for graduate credit in education or political science at Queens College will receive a $1,000 scholarship, while others who opt to take the course for professional development will receive a $500 stipend, Queens College said.
The event was slated for four day-long sessions at the Museum of the Moving Image from Aug. 18 to Aug. 21. Six additional sessions were also set for Queens College during the coming fall semester on Wednesdays for anyone looking to pursue graduate credits.
This year, Krasner said the seminar will take advantage of the upcoming congressional and New York state gubernatorial and legislative elections to bring teachers’ attention to the way in which voters make up their minds, the role of money and TV advertising in contemporary elections, the impact of Supreme Court cases such as McCutcheon and Citizens United and the role of political consultants.
“The content varies every year to keep the material fresh and relevant,” he said. “We will present a uniquely ambitious, rigorous and engaging election simulation model developed in collaboration with the teachers of Townsend Harris High School.”
Teachers will also use the elections as a case study in discussing the larger question of whether or not we still have a democracy in the United States, the professor said. The discussion will emphasize the increase in the power of the executive branch, including targeted assassinations of American citizens, the power granted the American military to detain American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial, the use of torture and black sites, the criminalization of speech and more.
The Taft Institute has a long history that dates back to its founding in the 1960s when it pioneered the idea of bringing teachers together with professors of education and political science as well as political practitioners. Over 20,000 American teachers and many more in other countries have attended teacher seminars through the Taft Institute, which is an independent, not-for-profit organization moved to Queens College in 1996, Krasner said.
By Phil Corso
