JACOB BALL, Richland

In recent years, it seems that students' knowledge of government at a high school level has dropped dramatically.

When I attended River's Edge High School in Richland, I was able to participate in a government class called "We the People." This course is used at many high schools nationwide. Each class in the program receives state-funded books that are the same for every school in every state.

Students answer three essay questions for all six units and eventually participate in a districtwide competition, and if a class does well enough, it gets to travel to Olympia to compete in a state competition. The class that wins at the state completion goes to the nation's capitol to compete against all the other state champions.

All in all, this course gave me a different outlook on a course I would usually have failed. This program has proved it can advance students' knowledge beyond what a typical government classes would. It's a state-funded program that other schools in the Tri-Cities should be involved in, especially when the state helps fund the supplies for it. For further information about "We the People," please visit new.civiced.org.