From the March 3,
2006 edition of ESQ., a weekly publication of The
Missouri Bar,
Advisory
Committee on Citizenship Education Present Solomon and Ritcher
Awards
Sandra I. Diamond, director
and St. Louis area coordinator for Kids Voting Missouri, received the Dr. Warren H. Solomon Civic Virtue Award on
Friday, February 24 at The Missouri Bar Annual Law
Conference in Jefferson City.
The Dr. Warren H. Solomon Civic
Virtue Award is given annually by the Advisory Committee on
Citizenship Education to recognize individuals who
themselves exemplify civic virtue and who have promoted
civic virtue among Missouri's teachers and students. Civic
virtue in American society has come to be defined as setting
aside one's own personal interest to promote the common good
of all people.
Ms. Diamond's entire career
exemplifies civic virtue in action – whether as coordinator
for Kids Voting Missouri, which is administered by the
University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Education by its
Citizenship Education Clearing House or through her
leadership in the different civic organizations in which she
is a member. Ms. Diamond is on the advisory board for
Newspapers in Education at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
is a member of The Missouri Bar's Advisory Committee on
Citizenship Education, serves on the Bi-State Civic
Engagement Alliance and is a member of the Missouri Council
for the Social Studies and the National Council for the
Social Studies.
She has been a social studies
teacher, coordinator of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Newspapers in Education program, collaborated with a wide
range of civic and social organizations, and she has written
numerous lesson plans and presented at many different civic
education conferences.
Throughout her extensive career, she
has brought energy, commitment and her leadership to
thousands of students and teachers. The impact of this one
person's civic virtue has left a lasting legacy on
communities throughout Missouri.
Stephen Platte, chair of the Kirkwood
High School Social Studies Department and a teacher at that
school for the past 17 years, received the E. A. Richter
Award for Excellence in Citizenship Education on Friday,
February 24, at The Missouri Bar's Annual Law Education
Conference.
The E.A. Richter Award is presented
annually to recognize outstanding contributions by
Missouri's teachers, administrators and schools to
citizenship education efforts.
Mr. Platte, who teaches social
studies, government and civics, has 33 years of classroom
experience. He coauthored the civics course taught in the
district. He was recognized in part for the wide range of
creative teaching methods used in his social studies
courses, in part for the impact he has had on the lives of
his students and other teachers. In addition to being a
masterful educator, Mr. Platte is known for his dedication
to helping his students and other teachers, inspiring them
to do and be their best.
In teaching students about the law
and the U.S. Constitution, he developed a mock U.S. Supreme
Court simulation. Students learn about the judiciary and the
rule of law by arguing historical cases before a mock
Supreme Court. To teach the Constitution, he has students
create a student constitution and bill of rights. He has
taught students about civic engagement by participating in
the Youth in Government and Close-Up programs. And in the
area of community service, he has started three tutoring
programs and a support group, including an African-American
mentor program for freshmen.
When told that he was being
considered for this award, he responded via email to one of
the nominators: “The main thing I have done in my 33 years
of teaching is to encourage the importance of civic
involvement through the history of our great democracy. The
countless heroes – both legendary and unheralded – in our
nation's history provide outstanding examples of why every
citizen is important and every citizen can make a
difference. The 'difference' in my view is pretty simple. I
have always tried to teach my students that we all have a
responsibility to make our world a better place where all
people have a chance to pursue happiness. I try to make sure
they understand that we are especially blessed to be in a
country where we have the freedom to stand up for our
individual principles, be heard, and to make a difference.”