Here at NewsDepth headquarters, we really believe in being an engaged citizen. To us, that means a lot of things, especially understanding how our government works and what our responsibilities are as civically engaged citizens. This week’s A+ Award winner is a perfect example of a student who is taking the steps needed to fully understand our government and his responsibilities as a citizen.
Recently we met with Aarit, who is a seventh grader at Jackson Memorial Middle School, in Jackson Township. Aarit recently placed second in the regional Civics Bee at Walsh University, and improved on his showing to win first place in the Ohio Civics Bee at Ohio State. The Civics Bee is an annual competition that encourages young Americans to engage in civics and to give back to their community. Aarit explained that he had to be an expert on the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and its Amendments, the Declaration of Independence, and our branches of government. He also told us that it was helpful that he understood the Magna Carta. I wasn’t sure what that was, so I looked it up and learned that the Magna Carta was an agreement between King John of England and a group of wealthy landowners that guaranteed certain rights. The Magna Carta inspired the writers of our own Bill of Rights.
Aarit told us that his sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Able, inspired him to participate in the Civics Bee. He very humbly shared credit for his successes with Mrs. Able. One of the challenges he described was time management. He had to be very aware of how he was spending his time to make sure he could get his homework done, spend time with family and friends, and still prepare for the Civics Bee. He spent a lot of time researching things like the branches of government, how laws are made, and the president’s cabinet. Along the way, he was still able to find time to play basketball, work on robotics, and write some computer code. This is one seriously talented, and busy, Polar Bear!
Aarit told us that it’s very important to study your government, laws, and democracy. He told us that doing all of that is an important step to ensure that we always live in a democracy, and that we all have a responsibility to participate in democracy. Aarit told us that he wants to help his community and show other students how to be better citizens. His long term goal is to become a neurosurgeon.
This week’s A+ Award goes to Ohio’s Civics Bee champion, Aarit. Congratulations Aarit. You’re a great role model on how to be engaged with your community.
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