Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, September 16, 2011

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The University of Kentucky hosted younger students, including a group from Tates Creek High School, at its seventh annual Constitution Day program.

Tates Creek High School students concerned about the quality of civics education have embraced the power of “We the People” and taken their case to the state Capitol.

“Something really needed to be done. We’re actually getting a point across instead of just sitting there,” said sophomore Sajidah O’Mran.

Last year around Constitution Day, she and about a dozen other social studies students joined forces with middle schoolers from Christ the King School and freshmen from the University of Kentucky to craft and promote a bill overhauling how civics is taught in the Commonwealth.

Currently, ninth-graders can take a class that mixes in a little social studies, government, geography and economics.

“It’s kind of appalling when people don’t even understand how their government works,” said Tates Creek sophomore Hiatt Allen.

Hiatt and Sajidah spoke briefly Friday at UK’s seventh annual Constitution Day program, which spotlighted the Henry Clay-Sandra Day O’Connor Civic Education Act for Kentucky. The bill has garnered bipartisan support and will be formally introduced next month in Frankfort.

The teens recalled reviewing statistics about who votes and who doesn’t and analyzing why people, especially young people, are not active citizens in their communities. One incident particularly inspired the students’ efforts: While randomly surveying mall shoppers with basic government questions, one parent responded that she wasn’t from Kentucky so she didn’t know who lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

“It’s amazing how little people know,” Hiatt noted.

The students hope the new legislation will make a difference, not only in schools but also in society.

“We’re giving kids the tools to know how to lobby so they can go out and be involved in their government,” Hiatt said.

When the project began, the students were led by social studies teacher Jennifer Fraker, who now teaches in Oldham County.

“After their research, the students determined that it boiled down to one main thing: civic education. It was at this point the students decided the state needed to make a change to require certain components,” she said.

Fraker noted how students were surprised they could schedule an appointment at the Capitol with senators eager to hear their concerns and even more amazed that lawmakers took action on their proposals.

“This process revealed to the students that citizens do have a voice and can make a difference if they take the initiative,” she said. “It truly has been both a rewarding and exciting experience for the students and truly a venture where the students have learned about civics by ‘doing’ civics.  I have never seen a project produce such well-informed and passionate young citizens.”

Sajidah, who previously was bored by government and political machinations, now finds the Legislature much more interesting because she can see the personal relevance of this bill.

Tates Creek teacher Patti Palmer also cited the project’s long-term impact.

“It’s so hard to make the connection between Frankfort or Washington with their daily lives. When you bring lawmaking alive, it has entirely new meaning for the students,” she said. “You want to engage them early so they have a lifelong interest in the political system and all that goes along with it.”

About the students’ proposal

The Henry Clay-Sandra Day O’Connor Civic Education Act for Kentucky calls for including civic-related material at all grade levels in social studies classes as well as language arts, music and art classes. In addition, it requires a semester-long civics class in the ninth grade with an end-of-course assessment (which is also required for high school graduation). Finally, in order to learn firsthand about civic responsibilities, students must fulfill a six-hour community service requirement during their senior year.

Quotable

Among the speakers at Friday’s Constitution Day program at the University of Kentucky

• “The best ideas don’t come from us. They come from the citizens we represent.” – Republican Rep. Adam Koenig, founding member of Kentuckians Advocating for Civics Education
• “These young citizens went to Frankfort to lobby for their bill and picked up bipartisan support.” – Buck Ryan, UK journalism professor and director of the Citizen Kentucky Project
• “This is an example of young people making a difference.” – Secretary of State Elaine Walker
• “Education is the most important thing we can promote in the Commonwealth.” – Democratic Sen. Kathy Stein, co-sponsor of the civics bill
• “The Constitution is the backbone, it is the skeleton, the very marrow of what makes our country great.” – GOP Sen. Alice Forgy-Kerr, co-sponsor of the civics bill

Did you know?

Congress passed legislation in 2004 requiring educational institutions that receive federal funding to hold an educational program each year to commemorate the Sept. 17, 1787, signing of the Constitution.

Can you recite the Preamble?

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.   

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