News

«BACK

YLI Announces the 2015 National E-Congress!!!!

YLI is eagerly awaiting the beginning of a new year and the start of the 2015 National E-Congress. Beginning on January 5th teachers will have the opportunity to participate in the Youth Leadership Initiative’s fifteenth session of its online legislative simulation. The National E-Congress provides students from across the nation to engage in discourse, debate and compromise by experiencing the legislative process first-hand.

The E-Congress begins by introducing students to the nuts and bolts of bill making in the House of Representatives using online tours, political cartoons and a political ideology survey. Once familiar with the workings of Congress the E-Congress prompts them to research a topic of interest, contact legislators about bills currently on the floor, and guides them in drafting an original piece of legislation. Using qualitative checklists and peer feedback students create a bill and submit it to YLI through their teachers.

Once bills are submitted to YLI students work in classroom committees to review, amend and vote on bills from students around the nation. A three-week review process provides students the chance to communicate about possible amendments and alter bills prior to them being voted on. Following the committee process, bills that were passed move to the house floor to be voted upon by individual student legislators. YLI recognizes the authors of passed bills with a downloadable certificate available from the website.

Last year approximately seven hundred teachers participated in both the National E-Congress and the My E-Congress programs. Three thousand bills were submitted to YLI in the National E-Congress on topics ranging from national defense to education. All who participated gained a greater knowledge of the legislative process. Here is what one E-Congress teacher had to say about the 2014 National E-Congress:

The unit on Congress is one of the most difficult to teach, primarily because it seems so removed from the student's arena of experience. Projects like E-Congress make a significant difference as both an adjunct to the curriculum and as a reference point for the students when they learn about the "real Congress." The connection to other students around the country demonstrates the broad array of social, political and economic concerns that exist in a large federal republic, and underscores the goal of broad-based policies in government. YLI has developed a program that works at many levels and which the students find interesting and engaging. My classes are more interested in Congress and the legislative process and have increased their understanding and appreciation for the compromise involved in public policy. Well done!

Barb Gray, University High School, Tucson, AZ

The 2015 National E-Congress will run from January 5th through April 20, 2015. Teachers who teach the legislative process during other times can use the My E-Congress program to run independent classroom sessions. For more information about the 2015 National E-Congress visit:

www.youthleadership.net/learning-programs/econgress