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New Visions: Law &
Government students ace regional We The People Competition
They're headed to state finals in March
Defying
growing data that shows Americans know very little about the United States
Constitution and government (see link at end of story), students from Career
& Tech's New
Visions Law & Government program outperformed the other high
school scholars from the Capital and Hudson Valley Regions on Saturday, Jan.
23, 2010, winning the regional We The People Competition at the Desmond Inn,
Albany.
This was the third year in a row the students
bested their peers and will go on to represent the region, which ranges from
Plattsburgh to Westchester, in the 2010 We The People New York State Finals
on March 6.
The
students, who come from several area high schools, had to explain
the philosophical and
historical foundations on which the American political system is based. In a
simulated congressional hearing in which students "testify" before a panel
of judges, they demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of
constitutional principles and evaluated, took and defended positions on
relevant historical and contemporary issues.
The winning New Visions students include: Sara Cooper
(Guilderland High School), Alex Ebel (Hudson High School),
Tyler Hammond (Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School), Kimberley Hansen
(Cohoes High School), Molly Heslin (Coxsackie-Athens High School),
Sean Lasher (Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School), Evan Long
(Scotia-Glenville High School), Riley O'Brien (Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk
High School), Derek Olander (Mohonasen High School), Rebecca Rybij
(Mohonasen High School), and Justin Smith (Galway High School). They
prepared for the competition with their New Visions: Law & Government
teacher, Richard Bader, Esq.
The statewide "We the People: The Citizen and
Constitution," an intensive curriculum that provides students with a
fundamental understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, is
funded by the U.S. Department of Education and directed by the Center for
Civic Education in Los Angeles. The New York State Bar Association
implements the program in New York.
Nationwide, the program is offered at the upper
elementary, middle, and high school levels and has reached over 30 million
students during its 20-year history. Competing students have studied for
months with their teachers to prepare for their roles as experts testifying
on constitutional issues in a simulated congressional hearing. Each class
testifies at six distinct morning hearings, and teams are awarded points by
volunteer judges, who come from throughout the state for the competition.
Constitutional scholars, law professors, lawyers and government leaders,
acting as congressional committee members, judge the student performances.
New Visions: Law & Government is a
unique career exploration program offered by Capital Region BOCES for
college-bound, high-achieving high school seniors from more than 24 school
districts throughout New York State's Capital Region. The program features
advanced study in political science, law, English and economics, integrated
with government and law-related internships and job shadowing.
New Visions programs are
currently accepting applications from high school juniors for next fall. An
open house for New Visions: Law & Government will be held on Feb. 11
from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at 1015
Watervliet-Shaker Road in Albany (For information, call 486-2613). Open
houses will also be held for other New Visions programs; visit
www.bocescareertech.org for details.
* (http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2008/summary_summary.html)
[1.25.10]
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