THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180281
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Social critics say the U.S. public has grown apathetic and cynical about its government and civic life. That's something students in Jim Hinshaw's advanced-placement government class at Norfolk Christian High School hope to change - by getting involved themselves.
``It's always been my personal conviction that people who complain should do something about what they're complaining about,'' Sara Mulford, one of 18 seniors in the class, said last week. ``Government has been based on a contract with the people. It's not an us-or-them situation.''
Such convictions arise from the study of documents written two centuries ago that form the foundation of this country's democratic form of government: the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Mulford and her classmates have learned their lessons well.
Later this month, the seniors in Hinshaw's class will travel to the nation's capital to represent Virginia in a competition that will pit their understanding of constitutional principles against some of the brightest young minds from high schools throughout the country.
The competition is ``We the People . . . The Citizen and the Constitution,'' and it is not some dusty, stuffy history exercise.
During three days of competition, from April 29 to May 1, they can expect to field constitutional questions that are the focus of intense national debate, such as school prayer, the right to bear arms, and private property rights.
``It makes them think in a more activist mode,'' said Hinshaw, who was recognized last year as one of the top four high school government teachers in Virginia.
``It's not just factual, passive learning. It's a way to apply what they've learned to current situations and to focus on some of their higher-order thinking skills.''
Norfolk Christian advanced to the nationals after winning in the state for the second consecutive year. Students from the private religious school out-scored four public schools, including a team from Fairfax County, the state's largest public school system.
The students said the program, started in 1987 as part of the bicentennial celebration of the Constitution, has sparked their interest in citizen activism.
``I think politics is the easiest way to make a difference,'' student Adam Rex said.
All of the students in Hinshaw's class who are 18 years old have registered to vote. During last fall's election, every student in the class volunteered time to a campaign, including all three of Virginia's U.S. Senate candidates. They worked phones and hoofed door-to-door handing out literature - and got chased by dogs, student Matt Kickasola said.
``It's something you have to learn by participation,'' said classmate Brian Turner.
As a Christian, Kickasola said, the more he studies the founding fathers the ``more I see they founded this country on principles that we, as Christians, still believe in.'' But Kickasola and other students said they recognize the importance in a democracy of respecting a range of views - such as those supporting abortion or gay rights - even though the students consider them morally wrong. by CNB