Nebraska’s sixth, seventh, and eighth graders will soon have a chance to show off what they know about how their country works, thanks to the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber has announced a civics bee for the state’s middle schoolers. Tara Lea, executive vice president of programs and partnerships for the chamber, says it’s a chance to empower students.
If they know how the system works, she said, it’ll encourage them to make meaningful change.
“I think a lot of people, when they hear ‘civics,’ they think of ‘politics’. And that’s not the case with this. This is really teaching students that they have a voice, and what they say matters, and that they can truly make a difference and impact in their communities.”
Participating students will be required first to write a four-paragraph essay about using civics to improve their communities. The top essays will move on to regional civics bees, then state. One finalist will represent Nebraska at the national level in Washington, D.C. later this year.
The winner at the state level will receive $1,000, and a possible $5,000 donation to the participant’s school.
Lea said she hopes the bee will help participating students see that civics really comes to life outside the classroom.
“I think now more than ever civics is so important,” she says.
“Obviously they learn about civics in school for a couple months, or whatever amount they study it. But this is really taking it out of the classroom and applying it to the real world.”
The bee is in cooperation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has offered a national bee for the past couple years. This year will mark the first time Nebraska will participate in the bee.
Lea says there’s a reason this year was chosen.
“We’re participating this year because it’s the 250th anniversary of the country.”
Nebraska will join all 49 other states in the bee this year, making it the first year that all 50 states will participate in the national civics bee.
The deadline for essays is Feb. 3, with regional bees taking place throughout the spring.