It is a course called “We The People” and it is giving students a unique opportunity to learn more about Constitutional history, law and civics. The class and “We The People” competitions enhance knowledge of the Constitution, allowing students to defend beliefs, rights and roles as U.S. citizens.
On this episode of the Supercast we take you inside West Hills Middle School to learn more about “We The People” and find out how students consistently use their skills and knowledge to compete and rise to the top in Statewide “We The People” competitions.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It's a course called “We the People” and it's giving students a unique opportunity to learn more about constitutional history, law and civics. The class and “We the People'' competition enhance knowledge of the Constitution while allowing students to defend beliefs, rights and roles as U.S. citizens. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside West Hills Middle School to learn more about "We the People" and find out how students consistently use their skills and knowledge to compete and rise to the top in the statewide "We the People" competitions. Let's start in the classroom with teacher Austin Wrathall.
We're here at West Hills Middle School with Austin Wrathall to talk about the "We the People" competition. First of all, I have to tell you, I got walked down to my old classroom. When the principal showed me your classroom, it's actually the classroom I taught in the first year this school was open and it was a little trippy to walk down the hall. And I'm like, she's getting closer, that's the turn. And it's pretty wild. So how's it holding up?
Austin Wrathall:
It's holding up pretty well. I think.
Anthony Godfrey:
I hope that I left good vibes in the classroom for you.
Austin Wrathall:
I think so.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Okay, good. Tell us about the "We the People" competition.
Austin Wrathall:
Yeah. So the "We the People" competition is a competition for students to learn about the Constitution. So these students hold a simulated congressional hearing. And if anyone's unfamiliar with what that is, sometimes the U.S. Congress will call in expert witnesses and ask them questions. And this is something that the students will get to experience, except in a real congressional hearing the topic could be anything, but for them, the topic is the U.S. Constitution. So they get to study the Constitution in depth and display their knowledge in front of a panel of judges.
Anthony Godfrey:
How long do you prepare for this competition and what's involved in the preparation?
Austin Wrathall:
So it takes several months and the students study from a textbook in addition to other online resources. So they have to prepare a four minute speech that they deliver as a group, and then they have to be prepared to answer six minutes worth of judge questions. These questions could be about republicanism versus democracy or how the Constitution was influenced by things that happened in the Colonial and Revolutionary War eras and things like that.
Anthony Godfrey:
It sounds like these students who are in 7th, 8th, 9th grade?
Austin Wrathall:
8th grade, yep.
Anthony Godfrey:
These 8th grade students may know a lot more about the Constitution than most of us. Is that accurate?
Austin Wrathall:
I think so. And in trying to teach them all this stuff, I have had to learn more about the Constitution than I knew before this as well.
Anthony Godfrey:
Is there something surprising that you learned about the Constitution that you didn't expect?
Austin Wrathall:
Yeah, I would say so. There are little bits of constitutional history that surprised me and also things that were in the amendments, particularly amendments that we overlook a little bit sometimes. And it's been interesting to learn all of that. We also have a team of students who is studying judicial review and the independence of the judiciary. So they and myself have been able to learn a lot about that topic as well.
Anthony Godfrey:
Any specific examples of an amendment or history of the constitution that you found particularly interesting?
Austin Wrathall:
So the kids are really good at asking questions and when they ask a question that I don't know the answer to, I have to go out and try to find it, or I give them the opportunity to do so. One interesting thing that we learned was the Founding Fathers gave us two ways to amend the Constitution. You could do it through Congress and State Legislatures or through National and State Conventions. And we learned that the National Convention method has never led to any amendment in all of U.S. history. And there's only been one amendment that was ratified through State Conventions, and that was the 21st Amendment. Actually Utah was the final convention needed to ratify that amendment. So it's even linked to our own state's history, which is pretty cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
And which amendment was that?
Austin Wrathall:
That amendment would be the one repealing a previous amendment and making alcohol legal again in the United States.
Anthony Godfrey:
And so Utah was the vote that made that happen?
Austin Wrathall:
Utah was the last vote needed to make that happen, yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
Fascinating, I did not know that. So I'm already walking away with more constitutional knowledge. It feels good. Let's see what else. So there's a competition and that happens every year about this time, and I guess because it's 8th grade students who compete, you always have a fresh batch of students that you're working with?
Austin Wrathall:
Yeah. So this is actually my first year coaching the competition. I had a wonderful teacher who worked with me to prepare this. She has done the program before, so it's fresh this year for everybody. But yeah, we always have a fresh batch of 8th graders who are working on this. And the good news is they also have a high school program. So if anyone is wanting to do the competition and they miss out on it in middle school, there is an opportunity to participate at the high school level.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now, do students participate as part of a class they enroll in or do they do it after school? How does that work?
Austin Wrathall:
Good question. So at our school, it's part of our honors level class. There are other schools who offer it as part of the regular U.S. History 8th grade class. So it really depends on the school, but if anyone is interested in it, I would highly recommend they talk to their Social Studies department at their school, or get in touch with the main office or even contact someone at the program itself. It's run by Law Related Education, I believe it's called.
Anthony Godfrey:
I love that our students are becoming more closely engaged with the Constitution. I'm sure that they reflect on the news and their personal responsibility as a citizen in different ways because of their experience with you.
Austin Wrathall:
Yeah, for sure. And it's been really great, especially in the past few years, as we have had a lot of events in the news related to the Constitution. I was even looking at my inbox today and there was an announcement in the New York Times that a Supreme Court Justice is going to retire. And now we can talk about, you know, what does that mean? What's gonna happen? What's gonna be the new process if we see a vacancy in the Supreme court? And they are able to form opinions on that. It's really great to watch them engage with these, you know, this process of government.
Anthony Godfrey:
So that's really exciting. I'm sure that the curiosity you spark with these conversations will continue for a long time in their lives. And, they'll engage in civic life to a much greater degree than they would if they didn't get the chance to have this experience.
Austin Wrathall:
Yeah. That's definitely the hope. And the hope is that it's not just a fun experience this year. The hope is that it will help them to be good, responsible citizens to share their knowledge with other people. And then when it comes time to do things like vote and participate in their communities and, you know, teach their own families, that they'll be able to carry this with them and make a big difference wherever they end up.
Anthony Godfrey:
So then do the 8th graders that you teach end up looking through these school code of conduct and district policies with a different lens where they start to nitpick your disclosure, perhaps a little more than they did before they got into the Constitution?
Austin Wrathall:
Not so far, but I did ask, one of the questions they had to study was what rights they have as a middle school student. So maybe.
Anthony Godfrey:
A classic 8th grade question. What are my rights as an 8th grade student, have you had to amend your disclosure statement? That's a really important thing.
Austin Wrathall:
We have not had to amend anything and we haven't had to lawyer up so far to take these kids on which maybe we will.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you're a brave man, and this is a great way for students to be just more engaged with the world around them and more connected to the Constitution and their country. So it's dynamite. Thank you for doing this.
Austin Wrathall:
Thank you.
Break:
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Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with three students at West Hills Middle School, part of the "We the People" team. I told your teacher, this was my classroom, the first year the school opened. So I was a teacher here, back in the 1900s. Does the 1900s sound like a long time ago?
Mazze:
Yeah. Depends on what year.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. We won't talk more about that, but I'm really excited to talk with you today about "We the People" competition. Tell me your name.
Mazze:
My name is Mazze.
Anthony Godfrey:
Just preparing for this competition. Tell me what that has meant to you.
Mazze:
Well, it's taken a long time. And some of the days I felt super pumped and prepared and then some of the days I was just distressed and that's also because of outside life. But having the ability to have a group and help you work with your teams makes it so much easier. Easier and better than just having to do it by yourself.
Anthony Godfrey:
So it's not just about what you learn about the Constitution, not just preparing for competition, but it's the opportunity to work with the team and learn with peers.
Mazze:
Yeah, I agree. And just growing friendships that I don't think I would've had these people in my life if I didn't do this competition. And it's made me thankful for the people that I have in my life.
Anthony Godfrey:
Do you think you'll have some lasting friendships from this experience?
Mazze:
Most definitely.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. That's a big part of what we hope happens in middle school for you. Tell me your name.
Emma:
I'm Emma.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your experience being on "We the People" team.
Emma:
"We the People" has really been a probably a great decision that I made. I was super excited about it. And so that's why I chose to be in History Honors, cause I knew that I would get this opportunity and just like Mazze said, I have grown, met some people that I thought I would probably never be like in a group with. And even though some days it's really hard in the assignments, you feel like you can't do it, your team is there to help you if you need it. And it's also a really cool experience because I get the opportunity to do this competition that I thought I would never have the opportunity to. And I think it's just gonna be a blast when we do the competition next week.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you made some great friends as well.
Emma:
Yes I have.
Anthony Godfrey:
Not everyone can say that they made closer friendships by talking about the Constitution. So I'm glad you've been able to accomplish that. Tell me your name.
Ben:
My name is Ben.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what do you think of all this?
Ben:
I think this competition has been fun so far. It's been fun to be able to learn more about the Constitution. And also, as they've already previously said, being able to go with groups and participate in these things. Also working together, it's made more friendships and yeah, it's just been very fun. Another thing is also learning more about the Constitution and really being able to dive further into it and like going farther than what I've learned previously in other classes.
Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me something that you learned about the Constitution as a part of this project that is really interesting or important to you.
Ben:
So our unit that we're doing is basically about citizen rights and responsibilities. So it's been fun to sort of learn about those different things and what we can and can't do as citizens.
Anthony Godfrey:
And the rights and responsibilities go hand in hand, and that's a really important concept. I love that. What have you learned that's really stood out to you?
Emma:
So my unit is, we've learned kind of more about like the English Bill of Rights and the Intolerable Acts, the Sugar Act and all that part of coming up to when they did create the Constitution. I got to learn more about the British side of the story that I didn't know before. I was always, just since I was born here in America, I just always knew the American side of the story and knowing more into depth of the story and knowing what the British went through. That's probably the biggest thing I learned and it's really cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
So learning another perspective, the British point of view, and the history of how the Constitution came to be, and what factors were involved has given you a deeper appreciation for it.
Emma:
Yeah, it has.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's great. How about you? What are some of the things you've learned and felt about the Constitution as a part of being involved in this?
Mazze:
Well, my unit, we are talking about due process rights and just being able to see what kind of due process rights there are. Who gets the certain due process rights, what amendments go with the rights, and I thought one was really cool. So juveniles, they don't actually get the right to parole. And one of the judge questions that we get to answer is something along the lines of should juveniles have the same rights as adults? And it really makes you think because are there types of rights that are needed in a juvenile case that you don't need an adult case? It just makes you think. And making your brain wrap around the question is, I honestly think it's fun, because you get to learn about so many different things. And kind of like Emma said, you get to go through different perspectives because we got to see different cases that used different process rights. I think that just being able to learn more about the Constitution makes it super cool, because I don't think I would've learned more if I didn't do “We the People.”
Anthony Godfrey:
I love this more and more. I wish I'd had the chance to be part of it, hearing the experiences that you've had. Tell me do you engage with current events and the news in a different way because of your new found understanding of the Constitution?
Mazze:
Yeah, we definitely do because when we are writing our speech and our judge questions answers, we put it into parts and the last part is current event or personal connection. It's allowed me to see how much that our history is to now and being able to make that connection has been really cool. And something I probably wouldn't have recognized before.
Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. So are you all on different teams?
Students:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
You’re rivals? Is anyone the Patriots? No. Do you name the teams?
Students:
No.
Anthony Godfrey:
The Whigs? Any Tories here? No.
Ben:
No. Just units.
Anthony Godfrey:
No. Okay. Just units. Okay. So tell me how it's organized.
Ben:
So there's just six units throughout the whole “We the People” and since there's two U.S. History Honor classes, there's two of both teams. So there's two Team 1s, two Team 2s, two Team 3, 2- 4, and so on until Team 5 and 6. And I'm on Team 6, I believe she's on Team 2, and you're on Team 5.
Anthony Godfrey:
So you're not in competition with each other? You’re part of the overall team.
Emma:
For the school-wide competition, we'll be going against the first class sixth period. And certain units will be chosen to go statewide, and then those six units from the two classes will go against the whole state and will go from there.
Anthony Godfrey:
I see. So it'll be unit by unit, whoever wins each unit at the school level will then form a team to go on and compete at the state level.
Emma:
Yeah, kind of. So it's basically like since I'm Team 2, I'm going against Team 2 in sixth period. Whoever has the high score out of those two, our teacher will determine that, will get to go to state, which will happen I think on the 16th of February.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Great. Well, I think you guys have a great chance of moving forward. I'm really impressed with what you've learned about the Constitution. I need to go back and do a little reading myself. So congratulations on enjoying some really deep, meaningful learning as an 8th grader here at West Hills.
Students:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.