The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club will march in the annual Independence Day Parade in Lake of the Woods.
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Steering Committee Meeting
The March meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club’s Steering Committee will be at Norma Lanier’s home at 317 Edgehill Drive.
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The State of the Union address
Article II, Section 3, of the United States Constitution states that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient…”
President Obama performed this important responsibility on Jan. 25.
The Feb. 17 meeting of The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club will be devoted to an open discussion of the president’s address — its substance, its tone and its place in the national political dialogue.
Members and interested guests are invited to take place is the discussion beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Woods Center meeting room.
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Civics education in our schools
Jesse Magruder, principal of Locust Grove Elementary School, will visit the club at its March meeting to talk about civics education in our public schools. What are children learning about their responsibllities and rights as citizens? How does the civics education of your young people affect the public life of our community, state and nation?
The person who will be elected president of the United States in 2060 is a pupil in an elementary school class somewhere right now. He or she is just beginning to learn about the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship. What that child is taught will have a profound and lasting effect on that future national administration.
That child’s classmates, who may never seek public office, are also developing an understanding of a citizen’s relationship with government that will help steer the course of the Republic.
Jesse W. Magruder, principal of Locust Grove Elementary School, will explore the status of civics education on the local level when he speaks to The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club at 1:30 p.m. March 17 at the Woods Center. Visitors are welcome to attend.
Alexis de Toqueville observed that “each new generation must acquire the knowledge, learn the skills and develop the dispositions or traits of private and public character that undergird a constitutional democracy.” What kind of civics education are Orange County children receiving in our public schools? Is it the kind of training they need to become good citizens?
Mr. Magruder is veteran educator with 29 years of experience as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. He graduated from Charlottesville Public Schools and attended Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, where he earned a bachelor of science in elementary education in 1980. In 1996, Mr. Magruder went to the University of Virginia to study to become a school administrator. During this time he worked full time on his studies while serving as an administrative intern at Fluvanna Middle School in Fluvanna County.
During his career, Mr. Magruder has served as a teacher, assistant principal and administrator in schools in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Fluvanna County, Culpeper and Orange County. He was appointed principal of Locust Grove Elementary School in 2007.
For those wishing to prepare for a discussion of civics education following Mr. Magruder’s presentation, here are some excellent resources:
- Center for Civic Education
- National Alliance for Civic Education
- The Role of Civic Education, a position paper of The Communitarian Network