New Hampshire is an amazing place to study civics! Although they aren't yet of voting age, the students of Hollis Montessori’s Adolescent Program (AP) got to experience being active participants in the democratic process this winter. The theme of their studies this term has been governance, and this was a great year to work on that topic. In addition to lessons on the structure of government, the rise of governance (going back to early humans, how laws are made, and political media, they got to visit presidential candidates, the State House, a Courthouse, and attended a convention and debate.
This being a primary year, lots of candidates descended on New Hampshire to talk to voters, and this year, several of them got to visit with our not-yet voters from the AP. They started their season of candidate visits in December with Marianne Williamson at Mary Anne's Diner in Derry. She spent about 30 minutes talking with them and answering the students' questions. Ms. Williamson took the students seriously, genuinely wanted to answer their questions including asking clarifying questions to make sure she understood exactly what they were asking, and engaged with them sincerely. The students asked great questions about climate change solutions, renewable energy, the Gaza-Israel conflict, school safety, the Mexico/US border crisis, and the price of higher education. She answered them all! She also expressed to the students her gratitude for living in a society in which we can freely exchange ideas in a public place, and encouraged them not to take that for granted.
As part of their coverage of Ms. Williamson, New Hampshire television station WMUR also covered the AP’s visit with her.
At the beginning of January, the AP students got more amazing opportunities to interact with candidates. They went to a rally for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and a restaurant visit with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Mr. Christie called on a few of the students who asked thoughtful and highly relevant questions. He gave detailed answers and treated the students with the same consideration and respect as the adults in the room. After that trip, AP guide Andrew Jeans said “I don’t think there is a group of middle school students anywhere that are this close to the presidential election.”
As part of the New England College (NEC) College Convention, the AP students got to spend two days immersed in the New Hampshire primary. The Convention included workshops, caucus meetings, the democratic debate between candidate debate between Williamson and Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips. The class got a chance to talk to Phillips before the debate, and that visit was covered by the Boston Globe. Globe reporters interviewed HMS 8th grader Sarah Seddon, who said that the process has offered a great trial run to get familiar with the candidates, issues, and processes. “I think it’s really cool that we get this experience, I think it’s preparing us for when we are able to vote.”
In the afternoon caucus of the convention, many of the AP students spoke up to share their opinions and/or to ask questions. They were poised and articulate as always. In fact, they seemed more sure of themselves than many of the high school students and engaged in dialogue with college students, college professors, the media, and candidates.
Before the students attended the NEC College Convention, the organizer of the Convention, NEC political science professor Nathan Schrader, visited the school and led a discussion on the presidential candidates and the primary election process. He was very impressed with our students, their thoughts and questions. That set the stage for the AP students to attend workshops on how to identify lies and distorted truths in political advertising, and young leaders, including local elected officials and community activists, who have made lasting change at the local and state level.
As if all the primary visits weren’t enough, the AP students’ journey through their governance studies also included a trip to the New Hampshire Statehouse, and the opportunity to participate in an amazing program designed by District of New Hampshire Chief Judge Landya McCafferty called Naturalization & Civics Day. The class attended a naturalization ceremony for 60-65 new citizens from 15-20 different countries and got to sing “Home” by Dirks Bentley as part of the ceremony. Then they got to work with law school students to prepare for and participate in appellate oral arguments. Students also participated as lawyers, judges, and jurors in a scripted mock trial.
During this process AP Guide Susan Holmes Glazier kept thinking about what these opportunities provided for the students. They were developing and practicing academic and life skills like “writing open ended questions, speaking up to ask a question, engaging in conversation with adults, learning how to courteously disagree or agree with ideas, how to handle themselves in public settings, how to analyze for biases, and how to fact check from reliable sources. This was research, writing, and analyzing with a purpose.”
Then there is the engagement factor—it is one thing to read about the world in a book or in a news story, and then there is going out and having experiences. “As the students were preparing their questions” said Susan, “we heard some of them ask "wait, what does that mean?" or "will you tell me more about that?" They were asking out of genuine curiosity and an interest in learning because it felt, and was, real.” It is one thing to say "when you grow up you should vote," Susan notes, and another thing to actually go out to speeches and forums and participate. “We're having lessons at school about the structure and functions of governments, and about all kinds of things related to civics to build a foundation of knowledge. The students are so lucky though to be learning first hand how our system of government works and what their opportunities and responsibilities are as citizens.”
Not only do our AP students have the opportunity to engage in these types of experiences, but it also allows them to hone in on their executive functioning, utilize critical thinking skills, get out of their comfort zone and practice public speaking, and learn to constructively interact with the public and professionals with whom they might agree with or disagree. This develops the ability to consider other perspectives, developing the ability to interpret news and other information critically.
In addition, AP Guide Meesa Jeans noticed that seeing candidates back to back allowed the “students to really pick up on HOW they shared their message—some of the principles could have been very similar, but students noticed inflammatory language, generalizations, not giving solutions, talking at people vs with people and more. This was true of both political parties and greatly influenced student perceptions of candidates.”
The capstone to this whirlwind experience is the Adolescent Program’s Presentation Night. The students display and present all the work they did during the trimester to their families and friends, as well as the 6th grade students who will be their classmates next fall. There were skits, timelines, and artistic projects demonstrating what they learned about governance.
In his self evaluation at the end of the term, 8th year student Wyatt Burns wrote “I think that he most important lesson I learned this term was to visit candidates before you vote. I went into a lot of those candidate visits thinking one thing, and coming out with a completely different opinion. Even though I am a child, I still realize the importance of knowing who you’re voting for before you vote. I also understand the privilege of being in a state where visiting candidates is possible.”
