We the People: Wauwatosa Students Head to State Competition

On January 11, 2020, two teams representing both Wauwatosa School District high schools will travel to Madison. There, Wauwatosa West and Wauwatosa East High Schools will compete against other Wisconsin schools in the annual We the People state competition. Both Wauwatosa schools have a long history of moving on from State to the National Championship, held in Washington D.C. each year in the spring.

We the People is a civics program sponsored by The Center for Civic Education (CCE). The mission of the CCE is to promote “an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy in the United States and other countries.”

But We the People is much more than a civics class. Dividing into units of four to six students, each unit focuses on a different aspect of living in a constitutional democracy. Students research their topic and prepare a statement to deliver before a panel of judges. Very much like a congressional hearing, each unit must then defend its statement before the panel, made up of attorneys, professors, statesmen and women, and civic leaders.

The impact of this class is significant. We the People equips a generation of informed citizens who understand the values, principles, and history of our constitutional democracy. But it also develops their ability to speak in public, trust democratic procedures, and apply the ideals of the United States Constitution to civic discourse and managing conflict.

In a day when political discourse is in critical condition, it is inspiring to see young people discussing substantive ideas with conviction while still respecting their peers. Sadly, shouting matches and contemptuous rhetoric, not vigorous, informed debate, have become the norm. As a parent of two children who have participated in the We the People program, I’ve also observed its effect on parents. It’s not unusual to hear parents saying things like, “If kids can talk like that about politics to each other, maybe we could do better.”

I hope that every high school in our great state will participate one day in the We the People program. The class is unparalleled for the impact it has had on my sons and that of many of their classmates. The more people who possess the skills necessary to live as informed, responsible citizens in our great state and in this great nation, the better. Best of success to both Tosa West and Tosa East in Madison!

“I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education.”

~Thomas Jefferson, 1820