Jami Samione, a teacher from Maplewood Middle School in Edmonds, WA who has been using the Civic MIrror with her students the last couple of years, received a teaching award for her efforts in promoting American history, traditions and institutions, to teach and reinforce citizenship education topics, and to promote democratic values and beliefs.
Nominated by a parent who was thrilled to see her child coming home day after day pumped up about Ms. Samione’s social studies class, Jami remains humble and soft-spoken about the honor. To quote her:
“Ugh… I am honored but also don’t love the attention.”
Sorry Jami: We know there are lots of other super-awesome educators in Edmonds using Civic Mirror in their classrooms and taking it to great heights like you are, but this is worth showcasing!
And her students’ posts in the Civic Mirror discussion forums back up the accolades from her award.
Check out some her students’ replies to Ms. Samione’s question:
“Given what you have learned in Civic Mirror, what do you think is the most important civic responsibility of every American citizen?”
Nikki of Snorlax City wrote:
“I think that one of the most important responsibilities for citizens is that people need to speak up and say what they believe in and if their voice isn’t heard enough then they need to do something about that, like becoming part of government or something like that. I think people need to be more involved and share what they have to say!“
Cami of Unicornville wrote:
“After playing Civic Mirror, I think I can use the things I learned in the game and use them in the real world by not just sitting there watching everyone else do the work but actually trying to do something for our country and not just ourselves. I know to make our country better we have to stand up for what we believe in and that’s just what I’ll do.“
