Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
BASIN — On Thursday, the Riverside High School juniors completed their district assessment for government class with the “We The People” project.
BASIN — On Thursday, the Riverside High School juniors completed their district assessment for government class with the “We The People” project.
According to instructor Stuart DesRosier, the students were broken up into six possible groups including the philosophical basis of the U.S. Constitution, how the founders formed the Constitution and the compromises made at the Philadelphia Convention, how the Constitution has been changed to further the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, how the Constitution shaped American institutions and practices, what rights the Bill of Rights protect and what challenges face the Constitution in the 21st century.
The students had four minutes to present their position followed by six minutes of questioning by a panel of judges. The judges then evaluated the students on understanding, constitutional application, reasoning, supporting evidence and participation.
This questioning allows the students to interact with successful adults from the area, exchange ideas about the Constitution, and the apply the document to real life, DesRosier. Students commented about how nice it was to have the judges listen to their thoughts about the law of the land.
The judges this year were Undersheriff Blaine Jolley, City Councilman Brent Godfrey, School Superintendent Dave Kirby, Police Chief and school board member Chris Kampbell, Becky Allred, attorney Michelle Burns and Lori Kibby.
Brenna Robertson said, “This was an amazing experience, and I had a ton of fun while researching our topics and being able to apply it to current events. It was really cool being able to go in front of the judges and share what we know.”
Brittni Miller said, “This was a good learning opportunity, that not only helped us learn more in depth about the amendments and cases that go along with them but it also helped us work on our communication skills that will be useful later on! Mr. DesRosier helped us prepare a lot for the final day and taught us plenty along the way to prepare us for this big district assessment! The judges gave us constructive criticism and explained the things we didn’t know, it was also a great opportunity to allow us to express our thoughts and opinions to higher authority & people with many years on their back.”