"The recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, most basic expression of Americanism. Without God, there could be no American form of government nor an American way of life.  The reason for this should be obvious to all students and their teachers--our unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is unalienable precisely because it is a basic staple from God himself. It is not a vested right provided by the whim of a king or queen or a ruler that can be withdrawn by the ruler whenever he or she so desires. Unalienable means unchangeable and permanent--
something only God can authorize."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower"

"No man is entitled to the blessings of liberty unless he be vigilant in its preservation."

Gen. Douglas McArthur

"Talk about the important things.  Love and respect for the great American experiment in free government does not appear out of thin air.  It has to be taught, cultivated and nurtured, or it will die."

Ben Boychuck, Educator

"When the founders talked about 'the pursuit of happiness' they were using the term in the classical definition, in which it was thought to be the result of virtue--something that takes an entire lifetime to develop--a virtuous character."

Nancy Pearcey, Author

FEEDBACK

• User Response Letter
• Second Assessment of Student Performance Results of Teachers Trained in and Using the AHEF Curriculum
• First Assessment of Student Performance Results of Teachers Using AHEF Curriculum
• What Teachers Say About AHEF Workshops and Materials
• Photo Submission

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America's Heritage:  An Adventure in Liberty User Response Letter We at AHEF are very interested in hearing about your teaching experiences using the supplemental teacher resource, America's Heritage:  An Adventure in Liberty!  As you may know, America's Heritage is made possible and offered freely to educators, parents, and citizens like you through grants and collaborative efforts.  In providing this resource, our request to all users is to provide AHEF with user feedback, in letter form on school letterhead, about the resource and your experience using it.  Your feedback is very important to us and helps us support, assess, and continually improve our work.  Your positive comments will be used to show other educators and students the value of the resource. Please mail your letter to :     AHEF                                            3501 W. Alabama, Suite 200                                            Houston, TX 77027-6035 Please email us at ahef@americanheritage.org if you have questions. Thank you for your support!

Second Assessment of Student Performance Results
of Teachers Trained in and Using the AHEF Curriculum
America's Heritage:  An Adventure in Liberty

A 2003 evaluation of student performance was recently made with data from the Spring 2003 administration of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) comparing performance of students of teachers trained in and using the AHEF curriculum with students of teachers who have not had training in or used the AHEF curriculum.  There was a statistically significant difference for the experimental subgroup of Hispanics on the objective Economic and Social Influences in U. S. History on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS).  The study indicates that Hispanic students whose teachers were trained in and used the AHEF curriculum increased in performance in the objective Economic and Social Influences in U. S. History on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS).  This finding is important for schools and teachers seeking to reduce the achievement gap between Hispanics and other ethnic groups, with Hispanics being the fastest growing sub population in the United States. See Second Curriculum Resource Evaluation Study.

First Assessment of Student Performance Results
of Teachers Using AHEF Curriculum
America's Heritage:  An Adventure in Liberty

The curriculum has been evaluated for 2002 performance results of students of eighth-grade social studies as indicated by the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), a test measuring American history objectives taught by schools around the nation. Consistent with the goals of AHEF, the study shows that students whose teachers use the AHEF supplementary curriculum increase in performance in social studies historical concepts and information as measured on the TAAS. These findings demonstrate the value for teachers in using the curriculum to increase student performance.  See First Curriculum Resource Evaluation Study.

What Teachers Say About AHEF Workshops and Materials

Feedback about the materials, presentations, and presenter was obtained from classroom teachers and other education professionals who attended American Heritage workshops and conference sessions. Comments are taken from actual feedback forms. Click here or below to give us your feedback.

About our MATERIAL

• "This topic (American Heritage) is conspicuously lacking in so much of public education today. Keep up your efforts."
• "I plan to incorporate more citizenship into my American History class. These methods were interesting and enjoyable. The lessons were about things that are interesting, left out of textbooks, and important. The methods were concise and appealing."
• "The American Heritage Education Foundation has provided materials to help students become thoughtful, active and productive citizens."
• "Provided wonderful classroom materials to help give students a sense of what it means to be an American and to understand our history and our heritage. Great presentation; very practical."
• "We came away with some good teacher tested materials for introducing American liberty and democracy into American history classes with the use of symbols and documents not many times found in the textbooks."
• " . . . workbook has a much needed emphasis on traditional American philosophy in classroom-ready format."
• "The materials given out are both helpful and necessary since we do not receive this info in textbooks. Very practical."
• "Fantastic! Actual materials and ideas I can use in my classroom!"
• "...Wonderful handouts.... The best...in the entire seminar."
• The notebook contains practical activities which can be modified for various subjects.
• "Sensational seminar-to-classroom material!"
• "Good information for teachers! We need this!"
• "The resources will be helpful. I didn't know we had a creed.  My students will benefit from some of the details about our heritage. Thanks."
• "Very easy to follow, step by step - very creative ideas."

About the VERSALITY of our material

• "Even though I teach fourth grade, I see a lot of material I can revise and use. . . Thank You!"
• "I will use lesson plans in 5^th grade American History classes."
• "Materials are useful across a broad spectrum of grades."
• "Materials readily adaptable to all levels"
• "Not limited"
• "We look forward to using your lesson in our 8th-grade American History class beginning in the fall."
• "Excellent materials - introduced ways to adapt the lessons - adaptability for all ages"
• "We are a family of 9 and our 3 oldest are currently in college....  The next children are young men ages 16, 14, and 9. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to give the kids the truth about America and believe it is the only way we can preserve her future."

About the PRESENTATIONS and the PRESENTER

• "Most organized and well presented workshop in a long time!"
• "Enjoyable presentation, a very relaxed atmosphere"
• "Great presentation, lots of enthusiasm..."
• "Excellent presentation of materials and lesson plans with detailed explanations. Very useful."
• "The material is exciting and presented well."
• "Steve is very articulate and enthusiastic . . ."
• "One of the most helpful presentations. His workbook is terrific. What a tremendous educator."
• "Outstanding material, devoted a tremendous amount of individual effort to produce outstanding classroom materials. A very committed public educator, whose dedication shows!"
• "Excellent presentation – dynamic speaker - something concrete to offer teachers"
• "This workshop was very worthwhile because it presented different teaching strategies."
• "Very informative! ...I am so glad that I attended this session. He understands the classroom because he is a middle school teacher himself."
• "Well organized - much info to share"
• "Excellent in all respects! Great presenter; great material and topic"
• "My battery needed recharging! Great job – Thanks!"
  
  See Collaboratives for more responses.
   

Photos              Submitting student, teacher, and/or classroom photos:            Faces and Experiences Learning About America's Heritage To submit student, teacher, or classroom photos to AHEF, you may do so via email (electronic file / digital photo) or regular mail.  E-photos are preferred. One or two paragraph or short stories may accompany photos (optional). When submitting, please include on all materials:  name(s), grade, subject, school, location, and contact information Please indicate information you do not wish to publish (contact information will not be published) and whether you would like printed photos returned.  Photos of children need written parent permission. Submit materials via email to the webmaster at ahef@americanheritage.org or via regular mail to: AHEF 3501 W. Alabama, Suite 200 Houston, TX 77027-6035