By Nancy Edwards
December was a lucky month for a group of seniors from Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern High Schools that spent a semester studying American history and constitutional philosophy. The high school teams competed at the state level in an annual contest called “We the People,” and won first and third place, respectively.
“We the People” is an educational model that teaches students in fifth, eighth and 12th grades about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The students learn about current events, applicable court cases, and testify in mock congressional hearings before panels of volunteer judges from the legal community. Teams that master their subjects compete in competitions throughout Indiana’s nine congressional districts, concluding at a state competition with representative teams from each district.
Liz Pasternoster, social studies teacher for FHS, attributed to the school’s win to teamwork, a lot of practice and community volunteers helping students to polish themselves before the competition.
“The students worked very hard and listened and took constructive criticism very well; that was great for this year’s team,” she said. “They had a lot of fun.”
Citizens from the area who offered advice and assisted students included Fishers Town Councilor Renee Cox; members of the Marion County Public Defenders; local judges, Dan Henke and Paul Felix; staff of Congresswoman Susan Brooks; Representative Todd Huston; and Senators Luke Kenley and Scott Schneider.
“We the People” has been shown to increase civic participation, including voting rates, for students as they become adults, which is good news considering the fact that, in 2011, the Indiana Civic Health Index showed Indiana ranking 43rd out of 50 states for voter registration and 48th for voting.
FHS senior Caroline Hewitt said the education model drew her into government.
“Before ‘We the People’ I was not interested,” she said. “When I got into it I was more interested in the constitution and government.”
Three members of the team have become so passionate about their involvement in the program that it has influenced their future career decisions: international relations, politics and law, according to Pasternoster.
FHS will compete at the national level in April on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and in hearing rooms on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit http://inbf.org/home.aspx.
