By Regina Dispa
Honors government classes had a mock congressional hearing which is where people go to talk to a committee and subcommittee to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, or conduct an investigation. This event was an imitation of the national competition, We The People. Mr.Johnson’s and Mrs. McGuan’s students took part in the event which occurred in various classrooms on Wednesday, Jan. 6.
“It was a lot of hard work, but every student really seemed to feel like they accomplished something when they finished the competition,” Mrs. McGuan said.
Participants were broken up into six groups. Each group became an expert on one of the units from the government textbook. The students prepared three to four minute answers for the judges which included former governor Bob Miller and federal appellate judge Jay Bybee. Students didn’t know which question they would be asked until they sat down to compete. Each question had three parts to it such as relating their topic to current events and modern issues; students only had four minutes to answer the question.
“I was very pleased with how everybody performed. They were really nervous, and they came through and impressed some very important judges,” Mr.Johnson said.
Ms. Harper, Assistant Principal over AP Academy, Mrs. McGuan and Mr. Johnson were the main organizers of this event. Mr. Johnson had three classes participate, and Mrs. McGuan had two.
For the unit competitions, Mr. Johnson’s students won one three units and Mrs. McGuan’s students won three units, and her fourth period won the overall class competition.
“[Winning] was actually quite a shock. My group worked extremely hard, and we knew we were up against really talented classmates. Two of our group members could not participate in the congressional hearing itself which worried us because our presentation was made for five people. So we didn’t expect to win over the other groups who had two more souls that could generate opinions to further their answers. I personally think that any one of these groups could have taken the crown,” Miranda McDonald, senior, said.
