By Molly Walsh

January 3, 2011

Vermont students are being asked to write their take on the state of the union in 500 words or less for an essay contest sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The invitation is timed to give students a chance to steal the show from President Obama, who will give his State of the Union speech at the end of January.

The winning essay will be entered into the Congressional Record and Sanders, a Vermont independent, will visit the school of the student who pens it to discuss what can be done to "create more opportunities for Vermonters and Americans."

The idea is to engage young people in the democratic process and give them a chance to air their opinions.

"I want to hear what kids are thinking about," Sanders said. "Part of my job is to represent the young people of this state and not just their parents."

Vermont's doing a better job than most states, but there's a legitimate concern that young people aren't learning enough about civics, Sanders said. He wasn't particularly interested in the workings of democracy himself as a teenager attending James Madison High School in Brooklyn, Sanders said. But he remembers a history teacher -- Mr. Fisher -- who managed to ignite interest in politics.

Fisher, Sanders said, was "very aggressive in trying to get us to think about the issues and to debate the issues and to talk about the issues."

Sanders hopes to spark some of that fire with the essay contest and help students understand the role they can play in American democracy, regardless of their political perspective. The decisions that Congress makes in Washington are going to affect teens profoundly, Sanders said, and he wants to know what students are feeling good about and what concerns them.

Sanders has recruited teachers including Michele Forman of Middlebury Union High School to help judge the contest. Forman, the 2001 national teacher of the year, said the assignment is terrific. It asks teens to gather facts, study current events and answer potentially big questions, such as: "Where should our generation take the world?"

There's no wrong or right answer to that question, and that makes the assignment even better, she says.

Forman, a history teacher, brings civics into her classroom in a variety of ways. She asks students to attend town meeting, held on the first Tuesday in March. She stages debates and assigns students a side that might not reflect their personal opinion.

"I say, 'It's really easy to have one point of view,'" Fisher said. "'I want you to open your eyes and see the other side.'"

When they complain that town meeting is tedious, she doesn't disagree. She tells them: "You're absolutely right -- town meetings are democracy, and democracy sometimes can be tedious and boring, and it's hard."

There's an easier way, but it's not a good way, she tells them: "Tyranny is much, much more efficient, but it's definitely not what we want."

Essays for Sanders' contest may focus on issues of concern to young people and recommend short- and long-term priorities for the president. Sanders encourages Vermont teachers and administrators to ask their students to consider the essential American question: What is the state of our union?

The Constitution calls for the president to "give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient," the essay contest notes.

Submissions should run 250 to 500 words and be submitted by Jan. 21 to: stateoftheunion (at) sanders.senate (dot) gov.