There Are So Many Ways To Share Your Voice
The We the People Program promotes civic competence and responsibility among the nation’s middle school, junior high and high school students through a variety of learning tools, including mock congressional hearings. Students who participate in the program not only increase their understanding of the institutions of American constitutional democracy but also discover the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Across the nation, this program is made possible through the help and support of volunteers. There are many ways that volunteers can get involved with Illinois’s We the People program. You can become Judge, Competition timer, facilitator or scorer, Coach/practice judge, or Fundraiser/Program Ambassador. For more information about these positions, see the descriptions below.
Across the nation, this program is made possible through the help and support of volunteers. There are many ways that volunteers can get involved with Illinois’s We the People program. You can become Judge, Competition timer, facilitator or scorer, Coach/practice judge, or Fundraiser/Program Ambassador. For more information about these positions, see the descriptions below.
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JUDGE
Thank you for your interest in serving as a judge at a We the People hearing or competition. The expertise and demeanor of the judges are critical components in the overall success of the simulated congressional hearings. Please review the Judge’s Guidelines video provided by the national Center for Civic Education. FUNDRAISER/PROGRAM AMBASSADOR
Fundraising is critical to the survival of the We the People program. The We the People programs had been funded since 1987 first by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution under the leadership for the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger until 1992 and through 2011 by the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act. However, in 2011 funding for the program was cut. The loss of funding is largely due to the ban on earmarks in Congress. The definition of “earmark” was changed a few years ago to include any funding Congress directed to a non-federal agency. The unintended consequence of this new definition resulted in the Center’s programs and many other very effective programs to lose their federal funding. The We the People program was not cut on the basis of the merits of the program. The program continues to enjoy strong bipartisan support in Congress and many members are seeking ways to restore its funding. |
COMPETITION TIMER, FACILITATOR, OR SCORER
Timer: Timers ensure that the mock congressional hearings run smoothly and that each team is given the same amount of time to answer the questions. Each hearing is ten minutes long (four minutes for the opening statement and six minutes for follow-up questions). Facilitator: Facilitators work with the judges. They ensure that judges arrive in a timely fashion to the hearing rooms. They are also responsible for distributing score sheets to the judges and collecting them after the hearings. Facilitators should officially welcome everyone to the hearing. Scorer: Scorers are responsible for tabulating the judges’ score sheets for each of the competing teams. Scoring works like this: six different panels of three judges score each of the six units for a total of eighteen judges’ score sheets. Each score sheet includes six criteria, and each criterion is worth ten points. The highest possible score for each score sheet is 60 points. Each unit is judged by three judges; therefore, the highest possible unit score is 180 points. Because there are six units, the highest possible team score is 1,080 points COACH/PRACTICE JUDGE
Coaches and practice judges use their knowledge and expertise to assist students prior to the competition, providing feedback and advice on their prepared statements as well as their responses to follow-up questions. |
Sign Up to Volunteer
If you are interested in becoming an Illinois We the People volunteer, review the resource materials provided by the national Center for Civic Education. They also have Real video of High School Hearings that can prepare you for the experience.
If you are a good fit, please sign up to volunteer using the link below:
If you are a good fit, please sign up to volunteer using the link below:
Volunteer
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