Sixth Judicial Court Judge Michael Montero helps Winnemucca fifth graders in Mrs. Darlington's class during their "We the People" unit, and he has been involved with judging We the People competition for Reno and Carson City high schools for several years.
The We the People course of study on the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights was developed by the Center for Civic Education with the involvement of former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Warren Burger.
We the People has been available to fifth graders for 25 years and has been available to high school age students even longer.
The two French Ford Middle School fifth grade classes who participate in We the People learn a great deal about the Constitution and Bill of Rights from the the 6-week unit of study during their social studies class period.
The high school level We the People program gets into big-time competition where students study and prepare for regional, statewide, and finally national competition.
The competition at the highest level is called "We the People; The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals" and is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education. Although no Humboldt County high school students are involved in the We the People course or competition, high schools in the Reno and Carson City are are very involved.
Montero has judged both regional and state competitions. State-wide winners on high school teams that compete in We the People programs travel to Washington D.C. where they visit historic places and participate in the national competition.
According to the Center for Civic Education, since the inception of the We the People program in 1987, more than 29 million students and 90,000 educators have participated in the program.
"I've been asked to judge the regional high school We the People competition for the past three years," said Montero; "This year I was asked to judge the state competition."
"I think it's a wonderful program," said Montero. "It's amazing at the state level the understanding these high school students have of the constitution and rule of law." Montero said the students' understanding appears to him to be superior to that of many lawyers currently practicing in those areas of law.
"We, as judges, listen to the students give their prepared answers to a number of questions about the Constitution during the Congressional hearing portion of the program and then we ask them questions that they have to answer on the spot from all that they've been studying," Montero explained. "They have to be prepared to field any question."
Montero said that high school classes in Reno and Carson City get government credit for their We the People involvement, and they obviously earn it. He said it is amazing how well-versed the high school students are, even on fourth and fifth amendment questions regarding unreasonable search and seizure and due process of law."
National studies appear to back up Montero's high opinion of the We the People course.
According to researchers at the Council for Basic Education,We the People students "have become energized about their place as citizens of the United States." National tracking of students who've studied the constitution and citizen involvement through We the People have shown they are more likely to vote when they're adults and more likely to be involved with government.[[In-content Ad]]
