Three Challenger Middle School students sat across from a panel, which included Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, and debated the First Amendment.
One of the questions the students โ Lourdes Trujillo, Federico Gutierrez and Myles Gantt โ were tasked with discussing was: Should there be limitations to First Amendment rights?
Citing Supreme Court cases, current and historical events and even some personal experiences, the trio addressed the mayor and the panel of local attorneys.
โItโs always a bit nerve-racking,โ Trujillo, 14, later said.
That presentation was a practice run for the students of Challengerโs โWe the Peopleโ program, 23 of whom will travel to Washington, D.C., in late April for five days to participate in a national competition. During the competition, they will take part in mock congressional hearings.
We the People is a program of the Center for Civic Education, a network of entities promoting civics education. Challengerโs civics teacher Norma Jean Higuera-Trask helped bring the program to the school and expand to other schools in the Sunnyside Unified School District and beyond.
This is the fourth year Challengerโs students will be participating in the national competition, Higuera-Trask said. Her students have been preparing since September for their 10-minute presentations, which include four minutes of introduction and six minutes of questions and answers.
In a time when incorrect rhetoric is rampant, she said civics education is critical. Even political candidates are proposing unconstitutional policies, she added. Thatโs because neither the candidates nor their supporters know enough about the Constitution, Higuera-Trask said.
What started out in Higuera-Traskโs classroom is now at all of Sunnysideโs middle schools, she said. Next year, the districtโs two high schools will also implement the We the People program.
The program has transformed the students, both Higuera-Trask and the students themselves said.
Gantt, an eighth-grader, said We the People taught him how government works and inspired him to teach other students.
His teammate Trujillo said she used to be very shy and didnโt have much self-confidence. She would avoid speaking in public or being in the spotlight, her mother, Brenda Trujillo, said.
But after three years in the program, the 14-year-old would-be lawyer not only learned a lot about civics but also gained confidence.
โI feel very very confident, not only in myself but also my teammates,โ she said.
For Gutierrez, 13, the Washington, D.C., trip in April will be his first time ever on an airplane.
โItโs really amazing to be able to travel with my friends,โ he said.
The three students said they hope the fact that they come from working families and that they had to work their way to the competition will set them apart from other teams. Many other schools participating at the national competition come from affluent areas, they said.
Nothing is handed to them on a โsilver platterโ here, Trujillo said. โWe have to work our way there.โ Part of the work includes fundraising to pay for the trip, which costs about $1,800 per student.
The kids also want to change how people view the south side of Tucson. The area is sometimes looked down upon as poor and uneducated, Gantt said.
โIt motivates us to prove those people wrong,โ he said.
The students said they feel good about their chances at nationals. Tucson Mayor Rothschild shared that sentiment.
โThey were beyond excellent,โ he said of the three students who presented.
โI believe we have a pretty good mastery of this,โ Gutierrez said. โI feel we have a strong chance in taking first place this year.โ
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