On the Importance of Civic Education and in Recognition of the Maryland Coalition for Civic Education

Floor Speech

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, one of the major goals of our education system is to produce knowledgeable and informed citizens. We accomplish this, in part, through effective civic education programs in our schools--like the innovative We The People program sponsored by the Center for Civic Education.

The first annual Congressional Conference on Civic Education was held in September 2003. The event was sponsored by the Alliance for Representative Democracy and co-hosted by our four distinguished congressional leaders: Senator FRIST, Senator DASCHLE, Speaker HASTERT and Leader PELOSI. One of the very positive outcomes of the congressional conference was the establishment of state delegations that returned home with the mission to enact specific policies designed to restore the civic mission of our schools and make available programs like We the People in each of our fifty states.

In that regard, I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize Dr. Marcie Taylor-Thoma, the facilitator of the Maryland delegation, for her leadership in designing an action plan to improve civic education in our state. As a result of her efforts, the Maryland Coalition for Civic Education, representing over 40 community leaders and organizations, has been formed; a tool kit of best practices in civic education has been developed; and Maryland's teachers will soon have access to further professional development in the area of civic education.

Moreover, I'm proud to note that these exciting developments come on top of Maryland's substantial existing commitments in the area of civic education--including our Student Service Learning requirement, our mandatory Government Civics course and our nearly finished state curriculum, which will include the teaching of civics and government from pre-K through high school.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Dr. Taylor-Thoma and the rest of her colleagues again for all of their hard work, and I look forward to the success of the Maryland Coalition for Civic Education as they participate in the second annual Congressional Conference on Civic Education on December 4-6 of this year.

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