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Students watch lawmaking process
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Posted on Mar 11 2009
Instead of sitting in class and learning about the lawmaking process, 20 students from Ladera International School of Saipan experienced it firsthand yesterday.
The students in grades 8th through 11th attended the House of Representatives session, where, among other things, the members voted to override the governor’s veto of the fiscal year 2009 budget—a controversial topic that has been going on for months.
Christina Carella, an 8th grader, said watching the passage of the override and, in turn, the budget becoming law was interesting. She said they discussed the issue in class before attending the session.
Although students can study the lawmaking process in civics class, seeing it firsthand adds to the educational process, said Ariel St. Clair, an 11th grader.
“I felt like I was kind of a part of it,” she said, adding that it brought a new understanding of the issue.
This is the first time students from Ladera have attended a session, said Richard Waldo, who teachers American and World history and psychology at the school.
“It’s good for students to know how the local government works, not just read about it in books,” he said.
The students need to realize their legislators are very accessible, Waldo, who spoke and shook hands with many of the representatives, said.
There are few places where a lawmaker will know a constituent by name, he said.
“I’m from California and I never met [Gov.] Arnold Schwarzenegger,” he said.
After listening in on the session for a few hours, the students headed to the American Memorial Park museum.
