Sponsored by the Wyoming Legislature and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program is designed to teach young people – the nation’s future voters and leaders – what it’s like to be a state legislator: the processes, the pressures, and the debate, negotiation and compromise that are the very fabric of representative democracy. NCSL emphasizes that America’s Legislators Back to School Program is a bipartisan program. Legislators of both political parties are urged to participate in this national program to tell the real story about representative democracy in America. America’s Legislators Back to School Program is a valuable opportunity for state legislators to answer NCSL’s call to promote civic education about representative democracy.
America’s Legislators Back to School Program is a program of the NCSL Foundation for State Legislatures Trust for Representative Democracy, which seeks to improve public understanding and support of our nation’s democratic institutions. With the goal of helping to instill the values of representative democracy, strengthen the democratic process, and encourage young Americans to play an active role in their government, the project speaks to youth in their own language about their own concerns.
NCSL introduced the America’s Legislators Back to School program in 1999 as a one-day event, to provide a contemporary approach for engaging the American student population in understanding the value of democracy. It was a great success and was enthusiastically received by both legislators and schools. The program was so productive and compelling that it was expanded into a one-week event in 2001. Beginning in 2005, the program has been expanded to run throughout the school year.
Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program kicks off annually during the third week of September and lasts through May each year. Legislators and teachers can schedule visits to classrooms throughout the school year and some legislators may make return visits to classrooms during the year. NCSL’s national publicity for the program begins annually during the third week in September. Legislators should feel free to arrange visits to local classrooms throughout the school year, based on your availability and the teachers’ schedules in your district. Contact Legislative Information Officer, Wendy Madsen, at 777-7881 whenever you need civic education materials for classroom presentations.
According to NCSL, civic participation is down among American youth. Nearly 50 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in 1972, but in the 2000 election, only 33 percent went to the polls. Less than half of 18- and 19-year-olds are registered to vote. A sampling of student opinions indicates political participation and interest is low for a number of reasons. Students feel the issues that candidates talk about are not relevant to their lives. The teens also suffer from the same cynicism and distrust that are prevalent among adults. NCSL notes the cynicism comes from what kids hear from parents and the media. In an effort to reach out to young citizens, educate them about the legislative process, and dispel some of their cynicism, the National Conference of State Legislatures created America’s Legislators Back to School Program to bring legislators into the classroom and to create a “real world” civics lesson for students.
The program strives to focus national attention on the need for civic education. This special program gives elected officials in all 50 states the opportunity to meet personally with their young constituents and to answer questions, share ideas, listen to concerns and impart a greater understanding of the legislative processes necessary for developing effective public policy. Scheduled to begin shortly after students return to school and to continue throughout the school year, Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program will bring civics to life – giving young people an opportunity to meet personally with their elected state lawmakers. By entering the classroom and listening to students’ perspectives, legislators will be able to initiate a dialogue while letting American youth know that their ideas matter.
Most important, it’s an ideal way to establish a powerful connection with our nation’s youth and educators, get their thoughts and perspectives, and inspire their active involvement in the democratic process. The event is designed to show students that government activities have a significant impact on the lives of citizens of all ages. State legislators can contribute to a much-needed improvement in the quality of civic education by sharing their experience and explaining America’s tradition of representative democracy to students.
State legislators are especially qualified to help students understand their roles and responsibilities as citizens. The objective is to counter the cynicism and distrust that prevails among the public today by offering a more positive and accurate view of elected officials, the people who work with them, and the legislative institutions in which they serve. Americans are so bombarded by negative and inaccurate portrayals of government that it is essential to offer an explicitly positive view of representative democracy to balance prevailing cynical and distrustful views.
Yes. The American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Center for Civic Education, Center On Congress at Indiana University, Close Up Foundation, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, National Catholic Educational Association, National Constitution Center, National Council for the Social Studies, National Education Association, Reading Recovery Council of North America, National School Boards Association, and the Dirksen Congressional Center have endorsed this event.
It’s easy to participate in this program to share the message of representative democracy with Wyoming’s youth. If you are a legislator, you can either contact LSO’s Legislative Information Officer, Wendy Madsen, at 777-7881 for assistance in arranging a visit to a school or schools in your district, or you may wish to contact your school district directly to arrange a classroom visit. If you would like to participate, Wendy will send you resource materials to use during your visit. These resources are explained in more detail below.
If you are an educator and you are interested in having a Wyoming legislator visit your classroom as part of Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program, you can contact Wendy Madsen at the Wyoming Legislative Service Office (LSO) at 777-7881 to help arrange a visit with a local legislator to your school and to obtain classroom resources for the event. Alternatively, if you know local legislators in your community, you are welcome to schedule a classroom visit directly with a legislator in your district. Either way, Wendy has a number of great resources explained below for the classroom visit.
We do not target any particular grade level for Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program, although individual legislators may wish to target specific grade levels. Please note that legislators are encouraged to visit and work with individual classrooms rather than addressing large assemblies, so the students have a more direct connection with the legislators who visit their school.
We have a number of resources available for educator and legislator use in the classroom, including videos, lesson plans, handouts, and booklets, including many Wyoming-specific materials. To support legislators in their visits to classrooms, NCSL has produced a number of materials for use during legislators’ visits. All of these materials use the theme “Your Ideas Count” to help students understand that they do have a voice in our system of democracy, even if they are not old enough to vote. Legislators can order copies of these materials, free of charge, from the Legislative Service Office. Please contact LSO Legislative Information Officer, Wendy Madsen, at 777-7881 to request materials for your classroom visit. Please let Wendy know the grade level(s) and approximately how many students will need materials. You can also download materials for the Back to School Program online through NCSL at: http://www.ncsl.org/public/backsch.htm.
Materials are produced in both hard copy and electronic format to maximize distribution and accessibility. Some of these materials are also available in Spanish. Marketing and resource materials available to legislators, schools, teachers, and the media include:
Your Ideas Count talking points card. This easy-to-use-laminated card provides talking points and suggested classroom activities for all grade levels.
Your Ideas Count booklet. This colorful booklet is geared toward middle and high school students and explains that disagreement is a natural part of the legislative process, that debate, negotiation and compromise is necessary and that students’ chances of being heard are better when they join with a group who shares their views. This booklet has also been reproduced by NCSL in an adult version, if you would like to use it for upper-division students. This booklet can also be downloaded and is available for viewing online at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/pamphlet.htm.
Your Ideas Count video. This 16-minute video (in VHS or DVD format), for middle and high school students, tells the story of 5 individuals – Sean Duffy from MTV’s Real World Boston and four of his friends – who go to the state capitol, and find out what really happens when state lawmakers go into session and get down to business. The video is online at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/pamphlet.htm.
Citizen Brain video. This 16-minute video (in VHS or DVD format) shows upper elementary students how their brains can thrive on American Democracy, through the animated “Citizen Brain” who is starving for knowledge.
Your Ideas Count, TFK Extra! This supplement to TIME for Kids, published by TIME magazine, tells 4th through 6th grade students about representative democracy, how laws affect their lives and shows them that legislators are real people. There is also a supplement available for 2nd and 3rd grade students.
Your Ideas Count, PowerPoint Presentation. This PowerPoint presentation slide package follows the same themes of the other Your Ideas Count materials and allows legislators to customize the presentation for different audiences.
Classroom Lesson Plans. NCSL has partnered with educators to produce pre-visit and follow-up lesson plans for teachers’ classroom use in conjunction with legislator visits to the classroom as part of Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program. Online lesson plans for teachers are available to download from NCSL at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/teachers.htm. More information about these lesson plans is listed in the next section. In addition to lesson plans that are available to educators, the Eagleton Institute of Politics has a prepared plan for legislators on the appropriations process, which can be downloaded at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/democracylesson/LegLessonPlan_Intro.htm.
NCSL has produced online lesson plans to complement the Your Ideas Count theme that legislators will bring to the classroom as part of the program. These plans, for elementary, middle school or high school students can be found at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/lessonplans.htm. These online resources will aid classroom teachers in preparing their students for Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program. Lesson plans for high school students include topics such as the importance of diversity in public policy making, the role of special interest groups in legislation, and the importance of compromise in representative democracy. Middle school plans include an assessment of students’ trust in government, a day in the life of a legislator component, and a public hearing simulation. Elementary plans include a segment on compromise, who legislators are, and citizen participation.
The Eagleton Institute of Politics has also prepared lesson plans on democracy appreciation, which can be obtained from Wendy Madsen at the Legislative Service Office at 777-7881 or downloaded at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/democracylesson/contents.htm. NCSL has prepared a number of materials for legislators to bring to the classroom that are described in the section above. These materials include a leave-behind student pamphlet about representative democracy called “Your Ideas Count: Questions and Answers About Representative Democracy.” In addition, many legislators will use a video of the same name, produced by NCSL for classroom use, for their presentation that follows the themes of the pamphlet.
Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program is designed to teach students what it’s like to be a state legislator – to put kids in the shoes of a legislator. The purpose of this event is not to teach about the three branches of government or how a bill becomes a law, but rather to help students understand the pressures, conflicts, and difficulties that legislators deal with in trying to solve public problems. Students need to have a more realistic sense of what their political system is about, how it works, and what they can and cannot expect from it. Students need to learn democracy appreciation, just like they learn art or music appreciation. They need to understand and trust our system of representative democracy to accept the fact that everyone in our diverse society does not agree and to realize that most of the time they cannot get everything they want in the public policy arena. The core messages that legislators and educators may wish to convey to students during the classroom visits include:
Legislators care about constituents’ needs and problems and what they think about issues.
Legislators are committed to public service.
Legislators deal with lots of competing interests and every viewpoint is heard on every issue.
People don’t agree on most issues and it’s hard to find solutions to public problems.
Negotiation and compromise are necessary to solve public problems.
The legislative process is often messy and contentious because of the competing interests and lack of agreement in society about how to solve public problems.
Legislators can also bring policymaking to life for students by explaining that the issues that state legislatures deal with are critical ones for people of all ages, including students. Some examples of the many things that the legislature decides that affect students that legislators may want to bring up during their classroom visits include: length of the school year; requirements for driver’s licenses; drinking age; seat belt safety requirements; student testing requirements; qualifications for teachers; penalties for criminal behavior; funding for schools, transportation, health, and social services. Legislators can communicate that because everyone’s life can be affected by legislation, it is important that people pay attention to and get involved in the political process. That means voting, joining groups, contacting elected public officials, and advocating interests and values. In our system of representative democracy, participation can and does make a difference, even if you are not old enough to vote.
The core messages outlined above can best be conveyed through discussions and activities on issues that students care about. Examples of topics that might be important to kids in your community include school uniforms, school violence, driving age, helmets for bicyclists or roller bladers, video game restrictions, smoking on campus, graffiti, competency testing to graduate, and curfews. Kids will learn best about what it’s like to be a legislator if lessons are personalized. The participating legislator and classroom teacher may wish to visit prior to the legislator’s visit to the classroom to discuss shared goals for the visit.
A talking points card will be provided to legislators who elect to participate in this event, which provides some suggestions for activities that you could undertake with a class. Additional ideas for classroom activities are available online at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/guideleg.htm. These ideas will work best in classrooms rather than in large, all-school assemblies. NCSL discourages legislators from addressing large school assemblies for America’s Legislators Back to School Program.
As a legislator, promoting Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program within your community is a great way to promote the legislative institution. Personal contact with students, teachers, and the media help to make more people aware of the role of a legislator in today’s society. Here are some ways for legislators to promote Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program:
Speeches. In your remarks to civic and community organizations, talk about the values of public service. Explain how legislator participation in civics initiatives such as Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program teach young people the critical role citizens and legislators play in this process.
Press Releases. Announce your participation in Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program in a press release. NCSL has produced a generic press release about the event that you can personalize and it is available online at http://www.ncsl.org/public/trust/legislators.htm. Contact with the media should emphasize that this is part of a national effort to raise awareness of the legislative process and the need for free and open debate of issues. The event could attract the interest of newspaper photographers, radio reporters, and television crews. Remember to always check in advance with a school on its policy of allowing the media inside schools and classroom.
Newspaper Columns. If you are given space in your local newspaper for a periodic column, consider using the space to promote Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program. For those who do not write a column, you may wish to write an op-ed piece or a letter to the editor outlining the goals of the project.
Radio Shows. Most communities have a talk radio program and many are constantly looking for program ideas. Suggest devoting a few minutes to the show’s producer and make yourself available for an interview or to serve as a guest on the program.
Communications. You undoubtedly have methods in place to communicate with local teachers, principals, superintendents, and other key school personnel. Remember to include information about Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program and to emphasize your commitment to civic education.
NCSL has prepared several evaluation forms for the project for state coordinators, legislators, teachers, and students to complete. Your state coordinator, Wendy Madsen, can provide you with evaluation forms, if you decide to participate. Legislators should fill out separate forms for each class visited and return to Wendy at the Legislative Service Office at 213 State Capitol, Cheyenne, WY, 82002. Wendy will also provide legislators with evaluation forms to give to teachers, principals, and students, which can be return to the LSO at the address above. Legislators and educators are also welcome to fill out electronic versions of the form online at: www.ncsl.org/public/trust/evalforms.htm.
If you would like more information about this worthwhile civics program, or if you would like to participate in Wyoming’s Legislators Back to School Program, you can contact LSO’s Legislative Information Officer, Wendy Madsen at the address and contact numbers below:
Wendy
Madsen
Legislative Information Officer
Wyoming Legislative Service Office
213 State Capitol
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Telephone: (307) 777-7881
Fax: (307) 777-5466
E-mail: wmadse@state.wy.us
Web site:
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/