Educator and AFT Civics Design Team Member
Andrew Martinez is a veteran teacher with 23 years of public school experience. He teaches at Collegiate High School, part of the Corpus Christi Independent School District in Texas, and is a member of the Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers. He teaches every high school social studies subject, including economics, U.S. history and American government. He is also dual-credit certified and is an adjunct professor at a local college.
His initial career plan was to go into law. After graduating from college, Martinez worked for the state Legislature and the Texas General Land Office for a couple of years, but it wasn’t the right fit. He asked his favorite teacher (a history teacher, as it happens) and his mother for advice. Both said he would make a great teacher. “Once I started, I fell in love with teaching. I’m inspired by the kids, and the relationships I have built over the years are what keep me engaged,” Martinez says. “Seeing kids flourish—especially the at-risk kids I am accustomed to teaching, and seeing them go from possibly dropping out of high school to graduating and heading off to college—is the best part.”
Martinez was recruited to join the AFT civics design team by a leader of the Texas AFT. He was interested right away. “I thought it would be great to do something different from classroom instruction—to work with others to design professional development programs,” he says. “Civics and social studies are often set aside in discussions of what is most important in education, but what is happening now in our country is a cautionary tale as to why civics is essential for our country.”
Martinez considers this professional development program a key way in which the union can support members as they deal with the competing pressures of testing and evaluation; political headwinds that place the teaching of government and history under scrutiny; legislative changes; and the challenges of classroom instruction in the age of COVID-19. He finds the process of engaging with fellow AFT members from across the country invigorating.
“Engaging with other teachers on this project has revitalized my energy and revived my desire to experiment with instructional strategies,” Martinez says. “As we discuss our unique experiences and conduct research, it’s heartening to know that we have a shared devotion to the profession. We all want to promote high-quality professional development for teachers.”
In the classroom, and in his work with the civics design team, Martinez holds to the idea that voting and engagement are a civic virtue: “Our republic is only as strong as the consent of the governed, and our consent carries with it a responsibility to make sure that our government acts in our best interest. If we don’t agree with the decisions the politicians are making, we vote, and we hold our elected officials accountable.”
Civics education helps students develop that sense of responsibility for how well our government works. “Civics education helps each of us become better citizens,” Martinez says, “and it contributes to the success of our country.”
Using a hands-on, project-based learning approach in social studies can help engage students in civics. For example, Martinez has his students identify problems in the community, conduct research and surveys, then make presentations to the school that are designed to encourage volunteerism in the community.
Overall, Martinez looks forward to creating practical tools and strategies to support robust civics education in classrooms nationwide. “We do a lot of great work in social studies—it’s as important a subject as math, English and science,” he says. “It’s even more important today, as we see our political climate becoming so divisive and so polarized.”