Did the Founding Fathers prepare us for the digital age? Participants at the 59th annual Greater Metropolitan New York Social Studies Conference considered that question at UFT headquarters in Manhattan on April 13. While the emphasis was on civics, other workshop topics at the conference, organized by the UFT’s Association of Teachers of Social Studies, ranged from 9/11 to women’s suffrage. Especially exciting for Anna Hendrick, a teacher at JHS 157 in Rego Park, Queens, was hearing from civil rights activist Mark Levy, who had been a Freedom Rider in the 1960s. “He showed us how to look at people in the photographs and ask what they were thinking. I will incorporate that strategy into my lessons,” said Hendrick, who was honored for outstanding social studies teaching and leadership. Debra Edmund of PS 193 in Midwood, Brooklyn, said the workshops would help her plan classes on the electoral process and the Constitution. “Teaching children these things now will help them be proactive citizens,” she said.

See more photos in the gallery »