Model Legislator 2023 Journal

Aiden Ramp
Preparation

 In preparing for the Model Legislature event, we did

everything the students did. We researched a bill and presented
it in committee and on the floor of a joint session. Doing
everything we were asking the students to do for the event
allowed me to familiarize myself with the process. However,
even with how much preparation we had there were still some
bumps in the road. This taught me that it’s better to be over-
prepared than under-prepared.
 Presenting My Bill

 When I presented my own bill in class it

required a lot of thinking on my feet. I could
educate myself on the topic and be prepared
for questions, but some of the real questions
that were asked were things I did not think of.
The real questions made me really think and it
can be awkward to sit in silence, but it was
better to sit in silence than ramble and not
properly defend my bill.
Committee sessions gave me the
opportunity to run the simulation, allowing
me to practice my instruction skills. I
worked out some issues as two students
joined day of and they still needed their
bill text entered and committees assigned.

General Legislation Committee

For the House session, I was a Clerk in
charge of the House Journal. It forced me
to multi-task and communicate with those
I was working with to ensure the
simulation would go smoothly.

House Session
 Model Legislator tested how I would respond under pressure
and forced me to think on my feet. The first time the House gathered
we were running behind and waiting for Representative Pelowski.
Since we were waiting, I had the candidates for Speaker of the House
give their speeches. I figured it was a way to utilize the time that
otherwise would have been spent with the House sitting in silence.
The Committee sessions provided me with a good
opportunity to practice giving instruction and running a group of
students without an advisor. In the Committee sessions, I got to advise
the Chair on decisions and answer procedural questions as they arose. It
helped to discuss with my peers how they were running their
Committees so I could modify my organizational strategy in order to
pay more attention to the discussion.
 This experience has allowed me not only to practice teaching skills but learn more about the Legislative process. Up
to this point, my only knowledge of the legislative process came from reading about it. Experiencing this for myself makes me
think this is a necessary experience to truly understand how the legislative branch works. Going into my own social studies
classroom, Model Legislator is something I would like to adapt to a civics class. I now know how to recreate this experience for
my future students. This simulation gave me the chance to practice delegating, giving instructions, encouraging participation,
leadership, communication, and decision-making.