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Capitol Forum on America's Future
Co-sponsored with the Nebraska Secretary of State, Capitol Forum encourages high school students to better understand American democratic values and examine global issues facing the U.S. Students participate in discussions and deliberations with their peers from across the state and members of our elected congressional delegation.
U.S. lawmakers to participate in Capitol Forum
Three members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation participated in the 12th annual Nebraska Capitol Forum on America’s Future on March 29 at the State Capitol.
U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson and U.S. Reps. Lee Terry and Adrian Smith met with a group of 100 high school students to answer foreign policy questions as part of a daylong forum in which the students discuss the U.S. role in today’s world.
The forum is a collaboration of the Nebraska Humanities Council and Secretary of State John Gale. The students and their teachers represented 26 high schools in Lincoln, Omaha, Ashland, Atkinson, Auburn, Bellevue, Cairo, Crawford, Dodge, Falls City, Genoa, Grand Island, Hampton, Hartington, Hastings, Hemingford, Holdrege, Howells, Norfolk, North Platte, Rising City, Springfield, Sterling and Wilcox.
Capitol Forum is a civic education initiative designed to give high school students a voice in public policy. For six months, students have studied and deliberated foreign policy issues in the classroom. On March 29, student representatives from each school will engage in discussion among themselves and with policymakers on such issues as immigration, nuclear weapon proliferation, terrorism, international trade, and the global environment. They will deliberate on four distinct options for the future of U.S. foreign policy, culminating in a conversation with members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation.
The day began at 8:30 a.m. with a welcome by Gov. Dave Heineman in the Warner Chamber. Deliberation on the four futures began at 1:25 p.m. The students’ conversation with the congressional delegation was at 2:45 p.m.
After the March 29 forum, teachers and students will return home to share their experiences with classmates, broadening the impact of Capitol Forum to more than 1,000 students statewide. These classes will complete a ballot describing their view of America’s future role in the world. Results of the ballot will be compiled and distributed to elected officials, Nebraska schools and news media.
Capitol Forum is a Choices for the 21st Century project, an outreach educational program of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies.
In Nebraska, Capitol Forum is funded in part by the Duncan Family Trust, Gretchen and Hal Lainson, A to Z Printing, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, “We the People” initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a state appropriation by the Nebraska Legislature.
Teachers statewide chosen for 12th Capitol Forum
Twenty-seven high school teachers from schools across the state have been chosen to participate in the 12th annual Nebraska Capitol Forum on America’s Future.
Through Capitol Forum, social studies and government teachers and their students will engage in discussion of our nation’s future in a changing international environment.
A program of the Choices for the 21st Century Project of Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies, Capitol Forum seeks to develop a foundation for long-term civic engagement by giving students a voice in public consideration of current issues. Students study and discuss various positions on global concerns to better understand options and their consequences. Global issues to be discussed include terrorism, nuclear weapon proliferation, immigration, trade and the global economy, and environmental concerns.
Selected teachers represent rural, urban, public and private schools. Schools and teachers chosen for the 12th Capitol Forum are: Ashland-Greenwood High School (Brian Petermann); West Holt High School, Atkinson (Chris Nemetz); Auburn High School (Bryce Roth); Bellevue West High School (Robin Kratina and Mike McLaughlin); Centura High School, Cairo (George Lytle); Crawford High School (Mary Gould-Traphagan); Dodge Public Schools (Mitch Hoffer); Falls City High School (Lori Rech); Twin River High School, Genoa (Ryan Sidwell); Grand Island Senior High School (Tamara Bailey); Hampton High School (Patrick Alexander); Cedar Catholic High School, Hartington (Audrey Freeman); Hastings High School (Robert Kerr); Hemingford High School (Dave Chatelain); Holdrege High School (Chad Bailey); Howells High School (Scott Polacek); Lincoln North Star High School (Jace Ahlberg); Pius X High School, Lincoln (Tom Seib); Millard West High School (Tim Royers); Norfolk Senior High School (Katherine Steinkamp); North Platte High School (N. Dennis Fornander); Duchesne Academy, Omaha (Heidi Reinhart); Rising City High School (Nonie Hrabik); Platteview High School, Springfield (Jon Comine); Sterling High School (Arlo Wusk); and Wilcox-Hildreth High School (Ken Meyers).
Eight of the teachers and four of the schools are new to the program this year. Robin Kratina of Bellevue West and Dennis Fornander of North Platte will participate as lead teachers. Together, they have 13 years of combined Capitol Forum experience.
On Aug. 3, the teachers gathered at the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland to discuss Capitol Forum curriculum, teaching strategies, and approaches to teaching the history of genocide. Guest speaker Moshe Gershovich, professor of history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, led a discussion on how to define genocide, categories of people involved, and reasons for studying and caring about the history of genocide.
When school begins this fall, students will study and discuss Capitol Forum issues in preparation for a March 29 visit to the State Capitol, where class representatives will report and deliberate on the international concerns of their classmates and have opportunities to question members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation about global issues and foreign policy.
The Nebraska Humanities Council presents Capitol Forum in collaboration with the office of Secretary of State John Gale and with funding support from the Duncan Family Trust, “We the People” initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and private donations.
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