Michael F. Shaughnessy

Eastern New Mexico University

Portales, New Mexico 88130

1)      Your organization is currently running a contest about the Bill of Rights. Who is eligible and what is at stake?

The Bill of Rights Institute, in partnership with the John Templeton Foundation, is running an essay contest entitled “Being an American.”   High school students (Gr. 9-12) in Texas, Virginia, and Kansas are eligible to compete by writing a 500 word essay about American values. 

The exact question is:  What civic value(s) do you believe are most essential to being an American, and how can you personally put those values into practice.  To support this personal response, reference a Founding document as well as a figure from American history exemplifying the civic value (s).  Over $30,000 in cash prizes will be awarded this year to both the winning students and their teachers.

2)      How exactly did this contest get started? And why is it restricted to only certain states?

The Being an American Project was created to help young Americans understand and reflect on the ideals that unite us as Americans.  By participating in the Being an American essay contest, young people will have the opportunity to consider the lessons of American history, the example of great Americans, and the challenges and responsibilities of citizenship in a free society.

The contest will be a national contest by the 2009-2010 school year, but we are rolling out the contest gradually.  This year’s competition is open to students in three states—Kansas, Virginia, and Texas-- where nearly 5000 teachers are already familiar with the work of the Bill of Rights Institute.  A complete listing of when specific states will be added to the competition can be found at www.beinganamerican.org/state_map.html.

3)      What will the winner get? (And I hope I will be allowed to interview the winner!)

First place students (and their teachers) in each state this year will receive $5000; 2^nd place--$2500; 3^rd place--$1250; and 7 Honorable Mentions will each receive $250.  In addition, we will be giving awards to the teachers who have the greatest number of their students participate as well as to the school with the greatest number of participants.

4)      What do you really want students in the average high school in America to know about the Bill of Rights?

We want the “average high school” student to understand that the Bill of Rights ensures limited government and protection of, individual rights.  Students can come to this understanding by studying the historical and colonial origins of the first ten amendments; by examining their application and interpretation throughout American history; and by committing themselves to living out the values reflected in this document.  The Being an American essay contest provides them the opportunity to do all of these.

5)      Some would say the Bill of Rights is an antiquated anachronistic document in this age of the Internet, computers, and sadly, terrorism. Why do you and your organization still hold the Bill of Rights in such high esteem?

The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791 to ensure that government does not infringe upon our natural and civil rights. In the age of the Internet, computers, and terrorism, we have a greater need than perhaps at any time in our history to treasure and to assert these rights. 

6)      Having been to England and seen the Magna Carta, and having visited Washington, I have seen the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Is enough time given to these documents in the typical high school of America?

Definitely not!  More and more teachers are spending less and less time on the Founding documents.  Many states require that the Founding era will be covered only in middle school, so that means thousands of students are graduating from high school with only an eighth grade understanding of such topics as federalism, limited government, and individual rights.  The mission of the Bill of Rights Institute is to provide both teachers and students with materials, resources, and experiences to help them better understand these essential documents and this crucial period in our nation’s history.

7)      Do you have a web site where students in certain states can get more information? Will you be expanding this contest in the future?

Yes, we have several websites for students.  The essay contest site itself, www.BeinganAmerican.org, contains detailed information about the essay topic, prizes, procedures for entering, and background resources.  Our Student Website, www.DoYouHavetheRight.org , provides additional information for anyone interested in learning more about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Finally, our Constitution Study Guide (www.citizenbee.org) contains over 300 entries about ideas, individuals, documents, landmark Supreme Court cases, and American civic values.

As noted above, this contest will be expanding each year until it becomes nationwide by the 2009-2010 school year.  A complete listing of when specific states will be added to the competition can be found at www.beinganamerican.org/state_map.html.

8)      Where will the winning essay be published?

We expect to publish the winning essays on the contest website next May.

9)      What question have I neglected to ask?

How do students enter the contest?  How do teachers win prizes? 

All essay submission will be entirely on line, and all essays must be submitted by a teacher.  We hope that teachers will spend class time discussing the essay question and that they give all of their students the opportunity to respond.  However, each teacher may only submit a total of 5 essays in the on-line competition.

In other academic competitions, students win cash prizes and teachers receive certificates.  Our program is unique in that we are recognizing teachers for the key role they play in helping high school students reflect upon and then write about these civic values.  Teachers will receive the exact same prizes that the winning students will receive.