Hoge Has Lofty Goals For Georgia's "We the People" Program

Teaching today's youth to be responsible and aware citizens is a critical part of their education, says University of Georgia education professor John Hoge, the new state coordinator for “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution,” a nationally acclaimed program that seeks to do just that.

Hoge, an associate professor of social science education, was chosen over the summer to direct the program which promotes civic understanding among the nation's elementary, middle and high school students.

Georgia's “We the People” program's innovative instruction uses curriculum materials and a nationwide network of teachers to teach understanding of the American constitutional democracy as well as the current relevance of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

After students complete the program they are eligible to participate in a simulated congressional hearing where they demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles and have an opportunity to evaluate and defend positions on current and historical issues.

Each of Georgia 's 13 congressional districts has a coordinator who supports the program by providing training, offering interested teachers free classroom sets of textbooks and running a district level competition.

At the high school level, winners of the district competitions go to the December state competition in Atlanta. Winners of each state competition then travel to Washington, D.C., in June where they will compete for the national championship, meet with members of Congress and sightsee.

As Georgia state coordinator, Hoge is responsible for making sure the program functions properly in all districts. He oversees textbook distribution and makes sure district coordinators stay in touch with their district congressional representative. Hoge is also responsible for building a new advisory board for the project to assist in extra fundraising and to help set policy directions.

Hoge was a natural pick to replace the retiring state coordinator, Parker Davis, because of his work in law-related education. He created curriculum materials on the foundations of law for elementary schools that help young Georgians gain practical knowledge of the law.

As the new state coordinator Hoge has some lofty goals. He wants a Georgia team to finish in the top 10 at the national competition.

“I want to make that happen, hopefully, this year; and within five years I want Georgia to win the national competition,” said Hoge. “I think the key to being successful is working with the district coordinators and getting to know their needs and their challenges.”

In addition to providing curriculum materials the program also hosts a one-week training opportunity for teachers who will be teaching the “We the People” program for the first time.

“We the People” is supported by more than 35 national organizations including the American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Council of Chief State School Officers, Council of the Great City Schools, League of Women Voters, National Council for the Social Studies, National Education Association, National PTA and the National School Boards Association.

More than 26 million students and 82,000 educators from every state in the nation have participated in this innovative curriculum since its inception in 1987.

For more information about the program, contact John Hoge at jhoge@coe.uga.edu or visit the new Georgia We The People website coming soon as a link on the College of Education 's homepage: www.coe.uga.edu.

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

WRITER: Kristen Heflin, 706/583-0811, heflin@uga.edu
CONTACT: John Hoge, 706/542-4416, jhoge@coe.uga.edu