Friendly Competition

Competition. The word conjures up sports, doesn't it? The pride of winning, or, the sadness of defeat. As a former teacher, I know that competition based on more than physical skills can be just as intense for high school students. Case in point: the students who participated in this year’s We the People competition.

High school students from all over the state who spent months pouring over our country’s founding documents, news articles, and text books, came to the Ohio Statehouse on January 23 ready to demonstrate their comprehension of constitutional issues to a panel of judges. They were prepared, poised, and professional in their presentations and during the follow-up questions from the judges.

I was especially glad to see students from the Law and Leadership Institute (LLI) program participating in We the People for the first time. LLI was started by the Ohio Supreme Court to prepare students from underserved communities for post-secondary and professional success.

Congratulations to all the students – and their teachers – for a great day of competition!

You can see more about the competition and what’s next for the winning team in this video from Court News Ohio.

We the Students Scholarship Essay Contest

High school students interested in a chance to win scholarship money may want to check out a new essay contest from the Bill of Rights Institute.

We the Students Scholarship competition seeks to help high school students understand the freedom and opportunity that the Constitution offers. Prizes include $5,000 for the winning essay writer and $500 for his or her teacher.

In 800 words or fewer, students must answer the question: “Since you were born, has America moved closer to or further away from the ideals outlined in the Declaration of Independence?”

If video is more your style, there’s a video contest, too.

The deadline to submit an essay or video is December 5, 2014.

Good luck!