Dawna Cyr, a teacher at Bonny Eagle High School participated in a week-long National Endowment for the Humanities Teacher Workshop for K-12 educators hosted by the Center for the Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, VA.

Montpelier hosted two of the workshops titled “James Madison and Constitutional Citizenship” that were attended by 84 educators from around the country this summer.

The workshop focused on Madison’s role in the development of American Constitutionalism by reviewing six phases of his life that serve as a window into America’s founding. Nationally acclaimed scholars addressed the issues of intellectual and political preparation, designing and drafting, interpretation and advocacy, revision and accommodations, institutionalization and incumbency and memory and consolidation regarding Madison’s political life. Each phase was addressed separately, one per day, linking political history with Constitutional theory. The workshop included a strong focus on primary documents, including Madison’s own written record, evidence of his political ideas taking shape and being shared with others.

Cyr said of her trip, “I had a wonderful time. We studied the Constitutional Convention in Philadelpia in 1789 and were presented with different viewpoints and insights of the convention. We studied Madison’s notes and read several of the Federalist Papers. I will be using many of these resources and new insights in my American Government classes this year. I will also be sharing information and pictures of the restoration process and archaeological digs that are currently taking place at Montpelier.”