Lima West Middle School Kaleb Baxter, Lima South Science Technology Magnet Jenni Canchola Flores, and Lima South Science Technology Magnet Shannon Delph compete during Wednesday’s Civics Bee at the Lima Public Library.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — “Which amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery?”
“What is the correct order in the process from immigration to becoming a naturalized citizen?”
Questions like these were among the many that middle school students faced at the region’s first National Civics Bee Wednesday at the Lima Public Library. Thirteen students participated in the event aimed at evaluating them on their knowledge, not of spelling, but of civics and how our government works.
Started by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the National Civics Bee works in a similar fashion to a spelling bee in that the winners at the local or regional level go on to a state-level competition with the opportunity to move on to a national competition in Washington, D.C.
“I think it’s great as an educational process finding how much they know about civics and government,” Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jed Metzger said.
Along with a more traditional test, participants are also evaluated on an essay they submitted when they were initially evaluated for the bee, going into detail on an issue they perceive in the community and how they would address it.
“There’s such a benefit, whether they win or lose, in this process,” Metzger said.
With several students from Lima schools participating in the bee, Lima superintendent Jill Ackerman was in attendance to support them. She expressed tremendous pride in how those students performed.
“We’re super proud that we’re highly represented here,” she said. “I think that shows that the teachers recognize the importance of student involvement in government and civics, and so they really made that a priority in their classes to promote it.”
One of those students, Alyssa Guthrie, 13, a student at Liberty Arts Magnet, appreciated the chance to get to learn more about the inner workings of American government.
“Possibly in the future, I would like to think about maybe having a government position or something here in Ohio,” she said.
The top three participants going on to the state competition were, in order of placement, Paige Sullivan of Liberty Arts Magnet, Palin Homan of Coldwater Middle School and Ariannah Edens of West Middle School. They won cash prizes of $500, $250 and $125 respectively.
Reach Craig Kelly at 567-242-0391 or on Twitter @cmkelly419.
