By Tom Solberg, State Bar of Wisconsin

Dec. 21, 2009 -- High school students from three Wisconsin communities will spend part of their Christmas break preparing to participate in mock Congressional hearings as part of the 2009-10 We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program in the State Capitol Building on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010.

The State Bar of Wisconsin-sponsored program offers students a unique opportunity to exercise critical thinking, problem-solving and cooperative learning skills. First Lady Jessica Doyle will welcome teams from five Wisconsin high schools competing for top honors:

• Heritage Christian High School (Milwaukee)
• Ripon High School (Ripon)
• South Milwaukee High School (Milwaukee)
• Wauwatosa East High School (Wauwatosa)
• Wauwatosa West High School (Wauwatosa

The winner of the state hearings will earn the opportunity to represent Wisconsin in the National Competition in Washington, D.C. in April. Last year, Wauwatosa West High School represented Wisconsin at the national hearings.

The teams prepare for the competition by completing a semester-long instructional program about the U.S. Constitution. "Our Constitution – and the Bill of Rights in particular – are much more than words on faded parchment in the National Archives," said Atty. Lindsey Draper, Chair of the State Bar’s Public Education Committee. “They define the core values and principles of our democracy and enumerate our basic rights and responsibilities as citizens. The mock Congressional hearing format offers students an opportunity to bring the principles that underlie our constitutional democracy to life as part of a dynamic and enriching experience."

At the competition, students answer questions posed by volunteer panels consisting of lawyers, legislators and educational professionals. Members of the class become expert witnesses on one of six units in the curriculum and then testify before the judges acting as U.S. Congressional Representatives. The curriculum's design and mock congressional hearing format combine to make this program unique because it addresses the academic standards required in Wisconsin's K-12 curriculum while also exposing students to a challenging experience that requires them to develop both individual and team skills.

The national program is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education. The Center for Civic Education and the Wisconsin Law Foundation cosponsor the Wisconsin program with the State Bar.

Additional information about We the People, as well as other Law-Related Education programs sponsored by the State Bar, is available on a new LRE website at www.wisbar.org/lre.

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© 2009, State Bar of Wisconsin