For the past five years, our Christmas season has been followed by preparation and participation in Capstone Student Legislature. Similar to Boys or Girls State but from a distinctly Christian conservative perspective, this hands-on experience is invaluable for students and parents alike to gain greater knowledge of the inner workings of state level government.
Students participate in a variety of learning opportunities under the guise of having their own legislature. Using Roberts Rules of Order and proper etiquette throughout the week, they spend time in committees, debating bills written by the students, engaging in mock floor sessions, campaigning and electing, as well as listening to and meeting many of their state-level elected officials. This year, as a second year student, Isaac and several others were privileged to spend 35 minutes with Idaho state's Governor - Butch Otter!
As an alumni, Isaac also participated in a mock Supreme Court case which, with his team of student lawyers and with the assistance of an actual lawyer, involved large amounts (20+ hours) of study and preparation prior to this week. As you can imagine, there is quite a bit of public speaking involved. While this doesn't come naturally or easily to Isaac, he really rose to the occasion and did an excellent job giving speeches as well as defending his bill all the way through to the final debates given on graduation day.
To give you a flavor of what's involved, here's a little clip from one of Isaac's final debates. Most of the student-written bills are silly in nature. Isaac's was no exception. His bill proposed a "National Police Donut Day" to be held yearly on April 1st and paid for by the fines incurred from speeding tickets. Unfortunately it did not make it beyond the (student-elected) Governor's veto :-) We are so proud of Isaac and his efforts to make it through this challenging week! It was a great time of learning and spending time with friends and mentors.
No comments:
Post a Comment