Cheshire Students Debate Immigration Reform

From the Edward M. Kennedy Institute: The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate welcomed more than seventy juniors and seniors from Cheshire High School on Tuesday for a 2.5 hour immersive, educational program on the workings of the Senate. Using high-touch technology on tablets provided by the Institute, students took on the role of U.S. Senators and worked together to build and pass a bill renewing the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.

The Senate Immersion Module program (SIM) provides an in-depth opportunity for students to engage in the legislative process. Students participate in hearings, committee mark-ups, and floor debates that culminate in a final vote on legislation inside the Institute’s full-scale replica U.S Senate Chamber. Since opening in March of 2015, the Institute has hosted more than 33,000 students from across the Commonwealth and the nation to take on both historic and current issues, from the PATRIOT Act to the Compromise of 1850.

“This is our third year coming. My students love it.” said Matthew Swanson, one of the teachers leading the school’s visit. “They’re all AP Gov students and this is a great place for them to actually put the things that they learn about each year in action and to act as senators and experience it firsthand, which is something that you can’t do in the classroom.”

The Institute’s Senate Immersion Module is compatible with Common Core curriculum. Specifically, the SIM provides corresponding pre- and post-lesson plans that meet Literacy Standards.

“The Institute’s 2017 Civic Survey showed that Americans’ knowledge about how our government works is incredibly low,” said Jean MacCormack, President of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. “We need to prepare the next generation of leaders to participate in our democracy. Through the SIM, students from schools like Cheshire learn how to navigate controversial issues through finding common ground with those they disagree with, empathizing, and advocating for what they believe.”

At the completion of the program, the student-Senators from Cheshire High School voted 52-19 in favor of passing the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.

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