More than 20 educators from across the country came together in New York to build resources that will support Retro Report’s new four-episode PBS series, “Citizen Nation.” The series provides a dramatic, informative, entertaining and nonpartisan look at the most critical issues defining America today, all through the eyes of Gen Z students vying to win a renowned civics competition, We the People. The series will premiere Oct. 8 at 9 p.m. on PBS, continuing on the following three Tuesdays.
In the coming weeks, these Civics Teacher Fellows will help create free, classroom-ready resources for social studies teachers, to be used with the PBS series and accompanying short digital films. The resources were funded in part by the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics Award from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We will have lessons and activities that focus particularly on civic knowledge skills and dispositions,” said Filiz Yargici, Retro Report’s education manager.
The summit began Sunday at Retro Report’s newsroom, where teachers got a sneak peek at the first episode of the series. Bret Sigler, the series creator, spoke about its production and answered questions from the Fellows.
“As I watched the first episode, I found myself deeply immersed in the lives of both the students and teachers, observing their experiences with keen interest and empathy,” Civics Fellow Shari Conditt wrote. “I became so invested in their stories that, by the end of the episode, I was eager to see what would happen next. In conversations with colleagues, I’ve described ‘Citizen Nation’ as a reflection of our students, colleagues, and ourselves, viewed through the lens of civics education. Within moments, I was emotionally connected to the featured students and teachers, laughing and crying along with their journeys, and rooting for their success.”
The group viewed digital shorts and brainstormed lesson ideas in Monday’s sessions. David Kendrick and Ryan Werenka, members of Retro Report’s Council of Educators and Civics Fellow coaches, presented examples of lesson plans and shared some ways educators can engage with students using these resources.
“It’s very important that everyone has access to Civics now,” Kendrick said. “Every single teacher that teaches a Social Studies class, whether it be Economics or U.S. or any of them – their students are going to walk in and think that’s the safe place to ask about what happened this summer.”
Kendrick said that given recent headlines – an assassination attempt at a Donald Trump rally and President Joe Biden dropping his bid for re-election and endorsing Kamala Harris – teachers will need to cover a lot of ground at the beginning of the school year.
“I think teachers are going to need some sort of resource that helps them, especially newer teachers, or first-year teachers that are going to walk into this for the very first time and be expected to teach the subject,” Kendrick said.
At the summit, Fellows learned how they can help spread the word about Retro Report’s Civic Engagement Challenge, which will open on Aug. 5. Students ages 13 to 18 are encouraged to submit a video or essay on a Civics topic. Judges will select 10 winners to receive $500.
Emily Melendez, PBS Learning Media’s social media manager, came to Monday’s sessions to talk about her organization’s collaboration with Retro Report. Later the group enjoyed a group meal at Carmines in Times Square, and attended a Broadway musical, “The Great Gatsby.”
To wrap up the summit, educators continued work on lesson plans and student activities. They also heard from Harry Olafsen, the manager of teacher engagement at the National Constitution Center, about exchange opportunities that bring lawyers, judges and constitutional scholars into classrooms virtually.
“I think [civil discourse] is really important because of the political polarization that we’re experiencing as a country,” Werenka said. “I think we need to get back to the point where we can disagree without being disagreeable, where we can understand that you can support a political candidate or a political party and it doesn’t make you less than, it doesn’t make you my enemy.”
The event wrapped up on Tuesday afternoon, where educators enjoyed one final meal together at Retro Report’s offices before parting ways.
“I thought it was fantastic,” Werenka said. “I thought we had a really, really good group of people that are committed to quality civic education, and I think we’re very excited to work with Retro Report on making ‘Citizen Nation’ and all of the other supplementary materials the best that they could be.”
CAROLINE WATKINS is Retro Report’s Audience Engagement Manager. You can subscribe to Retro Report’s education newsletter here and view past newsletters here.
