A Little Known Passion of Mine

This weekend I was able to attend a special event. The We the People State Competition at the Federal Courthouse. I was a volunteer and was able to see high school students from the state of Nevada participate. I must say I was very impressed. A few minutes in I asked one of the volunteers where she went to school. She told me and then reciprocated the question. I told her that I was 30, and a teacher. She was more than surprised...I was happy to know that I still look young. Yay for me!!

It was also neat to see so many local and state politicians and law makers be judges at this competition. I was mingling with people you see on the billboards! The culminating gathering before the awards were handed out was listening to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. Very cool!

We the People is a curriculum that is provided through the Civic Center for Education. I've been lucky enough to teach this program to my fifth graders for seven years now. I have always had a love for history. Teaching this program has lit a fire in me. These kids are like sponges soaking up all the wonderful knowledge that so many ignorant adults in our country will NEVER know.

My kids learn about the founding of our government, it's purpose and the struggles and miracles that took place. It's fantastic. At the end of the year we hold a mock Congressional hearing for the students to have a forum to share what they have learned. I don't have words to express the love I have for our country and what it took to make our country great. It makes me sad to see how we are spiraling down to our destruction.

I look forward to attending a seminar this summer in northern Nevada to be more enriched. I am also currently taking a class so that I can teach Project Citizen, another program from the Civic Center for Education, that teaches the students about public policy and how to fix problems that exist in their own communities.

Am I a dork for having such passion about this? If I am, I don't care. It makes me happy and drives me to learn more.



To learn more about We the People and Project Citizen visit their website @ http://new.civiced.org/.