Until two days ago, when you looked at the date in history, January 6th did not jump off the page as a day of great significance.  The 1838 introduction to the public of the telegraph by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail on that date never seemed that important.  But 2021 will forever change how we view the 6th day of the new year.  As Senator Chuck Schumer noted, "We can now add January 6, 2021 to that very short list of dates in American history that will live forever in infamy."

As the umbrella organization for social studies in Pennsylvania, PCSS is curious how the events of January 6, 2021, are being taught across the Commonwealth and how we might teach about this date in the future.  The Philadelphia Inquirer presented a story about how some teachers in southeast Pennsylvania (and across the river in New Jersey) discussed the day with their students.  Please reply to this message with any approaches you would like to share.

In 2018, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Act 35 of 2018 which requires that all Pennsylvania school entities administer a locally developed assessment of U.S. history, government, and civics at least once to students during grades 7-12, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year.  There are many civics resources available and all types of assessments are acceptable. I feel that this past Wednesday was the performance assessment for our national civics exam.

Thank you for whatever you can share.  Best wishes, stay well and keep safe.