LONGVIEW — Woodland High School teacher Shari Conditt thought she was being called to the gym on Tuesday for an ordinary start-of-the-school-year assembly.
What she didn’t know was that the assembly included guests from the Bill of Rights Institute, who had flown from Washington, D.C., to inform her that she won the institute’s National Civics Teacher of the Year Award.
Conditt was one of 10 finalists considered for the award, which comes with a crystal trophy and a $5,000 prize. She teaches AP government, AP U.S. history and regular U.S. history.
“I believe the award is really a reflection of the team I work with and my colleagues who make what I do in the classroom possible,” Conditt said.
Practicing voting
She has taught in Woodland since 2003. Her passion for social studies dates back to high school, and stems in part from her time living in West Germany during the Cold War as a child of two active duty military members, she said.
Although she was pushed toward high-paying careers like law or engineering, she knew she wanted to study history. In college, getting classroom experience while earning a teaching certificate further cemented her interest.
“I felt like this was a place I belonged and I loved the experience,” she said.
Her teaching style focuses on encouraging students to explore ideas together and learn from each other as well as their classroom resources, then practice engaging in civil discussions about what they’re learning.
“We’re not afraid to talk about what some people think of as really controversial topics because we approach it from a place of inquiry, a place of respect,” she said.
Conditt also teaches her students to build habits around civic participation by voting and engaging with their community. She and the rest of the school’s social studies department are part of a movement called On Tuesday We Vote, which involves having students vote on something every Tuesday to build the habit of doing so regularly.
“You wouldn’t learn to swim by reading a book or watching a video,” Conditt said. “To swim, you need to get in the pool and practice.”
Last year, her students planned and ran a forum for Woodland’s mayoral candidates. The students came up with questions, did marketing for the event and even decided how the furniture should be arranged, she said.
Conditt said she has not decided yet how to use her prize money, but she is considering using it for travel expenses. Every summer, she travels around the country to attend professional development events related to civics education.
