The We the People program has given students the chance to excel in the area of civics education; these may well be the future leaders of our nation.
– Hon. Gregory J. Donat, Tippecanoe County
Learn more about civic education from a former alum, Caryn Glawe, an attorney practicing with Baker and Daniels. Read this profile.
We the People should be given to every student in the state. It taught me how to work hard, how to reason, and how important it is to know how to be a citizen. I only wish I’d had it earlier.
– Alex Gillham, State Alumni Ambassador
The We the People program teaches students the ability to interact with professionals and engage in critical thinking and research about the Constitution. Students exit the program with a better appreciation about the value of participatory democracy.
– Janet Chandler, Social Studies Department Chair and Mock Trial coach, Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers.
Before We the People, the young people were typical HS students, but as they learned the We the People concepts and speaking skills, they became engaged with what matters in our world and showed the ability to think for themselves about the big ideas and to engage anyone in respectful discussion about those ideas. The only way to improve this program is to make it available to more students and schools.
– Hon. Paul Mathias, Indiana Court of Appeals.
My first experience with We the People came in 1993 at Washington High School. I took my government class. I gave out silver dollars to the students who the class thought did the best. Three years later I ran into one of those students at a local carwash. He asked me if I remembered him (I did) and he pulled out his wallet to show me that he still had that silver dollar and that he still kept up on the news. I knew then that We the People had an impact on students’ lives.
– Tobi Elmore, We the People Educator, Arsenal Technical High School, Indianapolis.
At my school, We the People competition has become the "culminating moment" when our students demonstrate the value of a St. Richard's education. The program brings together most of the skills we want them to have before we send them off to 9th grade: researching and writing, public speaking, poise under fire, critical thinking, learning to disagree agreeably, and being quick on their feet. If we could design a curriculum that was age appropriate and engaging for eighth graders, We the People would be it. It is content-based and engaging from the textbook to the hearing format to the professional development support provided teachers. Our parents who attend the hearings leave with mouths ajar over what their children have learned, can explain, and can apply to their own lives and current events.
– Andrea Neal, We the People educator, St. Richard’s School, Indianapolis
