Derrick Lindow, a U.S. history teacher at Daviess County Middle School, has been awarded a James Madison Graduate Fellowship form the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. The Foundation grants up to $24,000 to one teacher from each state, to cover the cost of tuition and books while attending a four-week session at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., with a goal of strengthening these teachers’ instruction on the American Constitution at the secondary school level.
Lindow was selected as part of a competitive review process for this honor. As part of the application, he was required to submit essays about the U.S. Constitution, his teaching philosophy and general history topics.
His participation at the Georgetown session will allow him to earn six credit hours toward his work toward a master’s degree in history.
Lindow is in his ninth year of teaching at Daviess County Middle School, where he began his teaching career. He anticipates important benefits from this Fellowship experience, both for himself as a classroom teacher, and for his students.
“I am always eager to learn more, especially when it comes to the content I teach,” Lindow said. “Learning more about what I teach will strengthen those times of the school year when we are studying the Constitution. I’m excited to take whole classes on very specific topics, and that will aid in my ability to help eighth-graders understand those concepts.”
Lindow said his experience at Georgetown will include class time, attending lectures and homework. “It will be like being a full-time student again,” he said.
