Local teacher playing major role in National History Day book
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) - A new book is helping students learn more about our nation's history and a local teacher is playing a major role in it.
The book Building A More Perfect Union is now being used in classrooms all across the nation.
Including Mr. Kyle Johnson's, a history teacher at Seaman Middle School.
"We need students to be informed, we need them to learn lessons in civic education," Johnson said. "And history shapes everything that's going on in our country today."
Each chapter outlines the work Americans have done to bring people together in the past and spans our nation's history so far.
"I have it on the French and Indian war and then they go all the way to the Americans with Disabilities Act, so very contemporary lesson plans as well," Johnson said.
He is one of only 15 teachers in the United States to write a chapter for the book.
He said it's an important resource for students to learn about the past and discuss ways to create a better future.
"We have these lessons about people who are trying to make America the best that it can be. And this last year has taught us, we definitely have work still to do," Johnson said. "And so as I go through some of these lessons with my own students, I think that's something we continue to look at. How do we make America the best version of itself?" Johnson said.
The book is also in preparation for the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026.
To learn more about the book, click here.