A teacher equipped with the right tools is the key to our students’ success
The American Teacher Initiative recruits and trains individuals to become teachers who will reintroduce America’s founding principles, responsibility and virtue to our classrooms.
Our teachers will help make our classrooms places where students grow academically, learn the principles of self-governance, and develop the virtues needed to sustain a free society.
When our Founding Fathers declared their intent to create a self-governing nation free from the whims of tyrants, they believed that the success of their new republic rested largely on the ability of educators to help develop thoughtful and virtuous people. In 1779, Congressman Samuel Adams wrote that “if virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security.” He believed education would be a balance against power and wealth. To that end, Adams advocated for high quality, character-driven instruction that would help promote freedom and the general welfare of the nation across the country.
“The American Teacher Initiative is reviving a lost art—the teaching of self-government. Following in the footsteps of America’s Founders, the Initiative knows that without virtue, a free society cannot last. ATI’s mission and work is vital for the future of freedom. With their words, and by their example, teachers transform lives. Self-government doesn’t follow an easy formula, or come about with a quick fix. Rather, spreading the idea of self-government takes teachers who live it, and who are dedicated to its cultivation in young hearts and minds. The American Teacher Initiative is an innovative idea that will enliven American education for generations to come. The Bill of Rights Institute is excited to partner with the American Teacher Initiative to equip teachers with the knowledge and experience they need to uphold the principles of self-government.”