On Saturday, Jan 18, the students in the AP U.S. Government and Politics: We the People class were able to travel to the Olympia Capitol building to compete in the Washington State We The People competition. Eventually placing 2nd place, they received the “wildcard” option to now compete in the Nationals Competition in Washington D.C. in April.
Thus far, these students have spent the school year, not only learning context and evidence for their “unit,” but also preparing for an essay performance and Q&A period.
AP Government teacher Ken Brown has been an advisor of We the People for many years and puts the task into simple terms, “students work in teams to specialize in one aspect of the Constitution … and [preparation] requires them to take a position on and apply these constitutional principles to contemporary events both locally and nationally.” Eventually students demonstrate their understanding at the competition in Olympia at the State Capitol, where they perform a written response to three predetermined questions. And then they work [together] to demonstrate mastery through answering questions given to them by judges on the spot.”
The units cover topics such as the Constitution and its amendments, the power of the executive branch, analyzing the Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments, and in which circumstances can the U.S. Supreme Court overturn based precedents.
When asked what the most difficult thing for preparing for the competition was, Unit 4 member Brayden Pugh said, “I would say mentally, especially going up for state against Tahoma, the 20 year dragon, having to mentally prepare yourself, to go up to such a challenge is crazy. Also just preparing for Q & A you have to think about any possible question that they could ask you and that could be rough.”
That may sound easy enough, but at the competition students were challenged with mind-numbing difficult questions and the peering eyes of friends and family, only heightened by the tension of competing against Tahoma and Evergreen high schools.
Located in Maple Valley, Tahoma High School has won the Washington State We the People competition for the past 23 years. Last year, they went on to place 6th at the National competition level.
After a close loss, only being 5% of points behind Tahoma’s final score, the Lions have been fueled with a deeper passion to truly show out in D.C.
Beside the already challenging academics at hand, it is also pertinent to note the importance of team chemistry with this competition. In preparation, and during the competition, a well-oiled machine is key to demonstrating to judges a cohesive line of reasoning.
Unit 6’s three person team was especially keen to learning to navigate this as described by student Santiago Quesada. “It was a lot easier with one less person to have to try and communicate with, and we’re all really close as a result.”
A large part of the class is filled with students having a passion for social studies, current events, and historical context. As a result, this class offers amazing opportunities for rising seniors to practice their public speaking, research, and analysis skills. For example, Lexie Crist on Unit 4 said, “Being able to learn so much about how our government works and the underpinnings of our government gives me a much more well rounded perspective of current events to have a deeper understanding of what’s going on today.”
Overall, the We The People Lions seem eager for their journey to D.C. and continue to work hard in class to really show their skills next year.The filming of their performance can be viewed on the TVW Civic Education Website here.
