Bruce Hitchcock wins teaching award

Bruce Hitchcock, chairman of the Social Studies Department at Noblesville High School, has received an "Outstanding Teacher Award" from the Center on Congress at Indiana University.

The award honors Mr. Hitchcock for his exemplary teaching about U.S. Congress. Three other teachers also were honored.

"At a time when there is a great distrust of government and widespread cynicism, these outstanding teachers have done a service by helping young people get past that cynicism and lack of trust to come to a better understanding of Congress and to see how it really does work," said Lee Hamilton, director of the Center on Congress and a former congressman from Indiana.

Hamilton and Suellen Reed, Indiana Superintendent for Public Instruction, presented the awards during a ceremony on March 10. Each teacher received a certificate and $5,000.

"Awards like this are invaluable in sending a message to students, parents, and teachers of the importance of academics," Mr. Hitchcock said.

"Presenting academic challenges which promote student learning and understanding and skill development is one of a teacher's most important roles," he said.

"Regardless of the content students learn, it is improvement in understanding, reading, writing, thinking, and problem solving which offer them the greatest opportunities for future success."

Mr. Hitchcock's selection for the award was based on two programs he uses to teach his students about Congress - a model Congress and internships on Capitol Hill.

Each year, students in his honors government classes participate in a model Congress simulation. If he has two government classes, one takes on the role of the House of Representatives and the second simulates the Senate. If he has three classes, the third becomes the executive branch.

Students are divided into political parties, discuss party issues, and publish a party platform. Each student is required to research and write a bill - and it must be written according to the format used in Congress.

Students who are a part of the executive branch also are required to write a bill and find a congressman to sponsor it.

Model Congress at NHS follows the same procedures as Congress on Capitol Hill. Students debate and approve rules for their chambers and follow guidelines for introducing bills.

The leadership assigns bills to committees and committees discuss and debate the bills, hold hearings, and call witnesses. Bills reported out of committee go to the floor for debate, amendments, and voting, and bills that are passed go to the President. If the President vetoes the bill, it is sent back for consideration by the House and Senate which may attempt to override the veto.

"This simulation attempts to fully provide students with an opportunity to experience being a member of Congress and the law-making process," Mr. Hitchcock said.

Also each year, Mr. Hitchcock organizes week-long trips to Washington, D.C., where students serve as interns in the offices of congressmen or with congressional committees. Over spring break 2000, five students interned in the office of U.S. Rep. Dan Burton. To date, Mr. Hitchcock has organized more than 30 trips and taken about 300 NHS students to Washington, D.C.

"To a great extent, the focus has been to improve students' understanding of the Congress," Mr. Hitchcock said.

Until 1994, students participated in the Washington Workshops Congressional Seminar program. Since then, the trips have centered on student internships in the offices of Senator Richard Lugar, Representative Dan Burton, and the JFK Assassination Records Review Board.

Students have met with several members of Congress, toured the Capitol, visited the House and Senate floors and the Vice President's office, and have observed Congress in session.

In 1997, one group working for the JFK Assassination Records Review Board was able to lobby a congressional committee for a bill which would extend the life of the Review Board.

Because of individuals with whom Mr. Hitchcock and the students have become acquainted, students have experienced "behind the scenes" tours of the Supreme Court and visits to the West Wing of the White House.

"What separates Bruce from his colleagues is his passion for exposing the students to their government in a practical, tangible way," Rep. Burton said in a letter supporting Mr. Hitchcock for the award.

U.S. Senator Richard Lugar and State Representative Jim Atterholt also wrote letters in support of Mr. Hitchcock for the award. Both noted that in addition to the Model Congress and the internships, Mr. Hitchcock takes students to the Congressional Youth Leadership Conference and the Richard G. Lugar Symposium for Tomorrow's Leaders, both on college campuses in Indianapolis.

"I can tell you, firsthand, his kids are always the best prepared," Atterholt said.

"If you don't mind me saying so, I believe this award was designed with Bruce Hitchcock in mind," Atterholt wrote. "Over the years, I have spoken to many different government classes around Central Indiana. With respect to teaching about how Congress really works, no teacher I have seen compares to Bruce Hitchcock."