Councilman Robert Holden visited the Notre Dame Catholic Academy in Ridgewood earlier this week to teach a civics lesson to a third-grade class and explain his role in local government.
Students were learning about government when their third-grade teacher, Adriana Livreri, thought, what better way to learn about government than bringing in a local representative?
“There is no better way to learn about our local government than from our Councilman Bob Holden,” Livreri said. “He spoke about his role in the community and what the students could do to help. They could come up with laws that could potentially get somewhere and make a difference.”
As part of Holden’s lesson, he asked the students what laws they would like to see enacted. The class at the Ridgewood school had plenty of ideas on what could be done to stop the loud music in the area.
“He gave us the option of writing down laws that would be great for the community and bring it up to the other council members and maybe make it [into law],” Livreri said.
Previously a professor at New York City College of Technology (CUNY), Holden said that he was very happy to visit the Ridgewood third-graders and be an educator again.
“It was a pleasure to be in the front of a classroom again,” Holden said. “We discussed local government, including the checks and balances of City Hall. These young students were very impressive and asked smart questions. Some even gave advice on how to deal with loud music and noise. Their teachers and parents are clearly doing a great job.”
Jennifer DiLorenzo, the principal of the Notre Dame Catholic Academy, said that it was a pleasure hosting Holden at a district school in Ridgewood.
“The students were so engaged and loved learning from him as well as speaking to him. This was a great way to make government real and attainable in the eyes of third-graders,” DiLorenzo said.
