Teachers to present on Equal Rights Amendment on Oct. 31

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Crivello                                         Hoey                             Flynn

BELOIT—Three area social studies teachers who attended a workshop at Harvard Business School during the summer of 2019 will give a presentation on the history behind the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) on Saturday.

The presentation will be at 10 a.m. at the Beloit Public Library, or it can be viewed online through Go To Meeting. Only 15 people will be allowed to attend the in-person presentation at the library and they must register at the library, according to Deb Fallon, chair of the League of Women Voters membership committee.

Frank Crivello, of Clinton High School, will be presenting as well as Beloit Memorial High School teachers Matt Flynn and James Hoey. They will discuss democracy and women’s rights in America, teaching the lesson like they would do in a classroom.

The teachers will use the methodology they learned about from Harvard, Fallon said.

Crivello, Flynn and Hoey were awarded an all-expense trip to Boston in August of 2019 through the Harvard Business School after writing an essay and doing a phone interview.

The workshop was part of the Harvard Case Method Project of Teaching History, with the goal of making history come alive for students. The workshop taught educators how to use real case studies of incidents in history to engage students and produce an increased interest in voting, political engagement and constructive debate. Although the case students were first used in the business school, educators are using them more in liberal arts education as well.

Flynn said the presentation for Beloit was originally scheduled for last spring, but then COVID hit.

“The League decided they wanted us to look at the Equal Rights Amendment case which focuses on the rights of women from colonial times through the 20th Century. It is especially relevant this year with the 100 year anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the presidential election,” Flynn said.

Flynn said he, Hoey and Crivello all held case studies with students last year in class and had wonderful discussions.

“We are predicting the case study with community members will go just as well and help promote civic engagement throughout the community,” Flynn said.

The Equal Rights Amendment would ensure equal rights for all Americans regardless of gender. It needs to be ratified by 38 states to become a part of the U.S. Constitution.