Howard County state Del. Gail Bates admits she didn't know exactly what she was agreeing to when she consented to act as a judge for Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School's Simulated Congressional Hearings five years ago.

"I said, 'Sure, I don't know what I'm getting into,' but I was immediately hooked," she said. "The kids learn about this country. About why it was designed the way it was and how it was designed. I think they will be far better citizens because of it."

This year, Bates was a visiting judge at 10 elementary schools.

"I really enjoy it. In fact, it's been wonderful," she said. "It's really mushroomed and I'm really glad. ... It's a lot of work putting it on."

State Sen. Allan Kittleman, whose district includes portions of both Howard and Carroll counties, echoed her sentiment, noting kudos are in order for the teachers and central office staff that spend weeks preparing the fifth-grade students at their schools for the hearings.

"I really appreciate that Howard County does that because most places don't. It's a tremendous amount of work. I also represent Carroll County and I think there's only one that does it there," he said.

Kittleman looks forward to the hearings and fits as many as possible into his schedule.

"It's one of the highlights of my year. I know when our session (in Annapolis) is over, then it's time for the congressional hearings and I try to do as many as I can," he said.

Twenty-five public elementary schools held simulated Congressional hearings this spring. The hearings take place at the end of the academic year and are part of the fifth-grade "We the People: The Citizens and the Constitution" social studies curriculum.

Students are immersed in studying the history of the colonial United States and the formation of its constitution and government throughout the year. The hearings provide a platform where they demonstrate their theoretical knowledge by applying the principles they studied to everyday life.

"It's not merely a recitation of facts. They're processing the information," Bates said. "They learn about the history. Now, how is that working today?"

Katherine Taylor, a lawyer who served as a panel judge at the Ilchester Elementary School hearings, was impressed with how well the students grasp the subject matter.

"It's that 'wow' factor. They're not just reading and performing it. Even if it's just that one concept that they study in a group, it's more than the average Joe knows," she said.

Former Howard County Police Chief Wayne Livesay participated as a panel judge at the Bushy Park Elementary School hearings. He appreciated that so many Howard County school children, with his grandson, Brett, among them this year, receive a good grounding on how the government functions early on.

"They got into the Constitution much more than I was expecting," Livesay said. "It's great that they are studying it now, that they get a good basis."

He added that in his current position as director of the criminal justice and legal studies program at Carroll Community College, he sees a lot of college students who somehow missed out on learning the concepts of representational democracy.

"I routinely ask my students (at Carroll) and I am surprised at how many people don't know who their representative is. We talk about criminal laws, but you have to understand how they're made...Somehow along the way we're missing something. You have to know how laws are made, who judges are, the role of legislatures," he said.

Pupils learn all sides of law

While researching their topics, the fifth-graders get to see that there are two sides to every issue. During the hearings, they are asked to tackle the complications and nuances of concepts such as the right to freedom of speech or the concept of the common good.

"With freedom of speech, what they learn is that it doesn't protect just any speech," Taylor said.

One case students at Ilchester researched involved the right to wear a T-shirt with a political slogan to school.

"The court went through an analysis of factors to consider: will it harm others, or be a threat to others? It showed the kids that there is a right to freedom of speech, but that there are limits to that right," Taylor said.

Kittleman noted a case cited frequently in the hearings that he attended was the ban on smoking inside restaurants and bars that went into effect in Howard County in 2007.

"Lots of schools use that as an example. They certainly did in Lisbon (May 29). One of the kids said, 'I like that they passed the ban; it's for the common good.' But then they also see that it curtails personal rights," he said.

Kittleman said this makes it easier for the students to understand his job as a state senator.

"I tell them that when I vote for a bill, I have to realize that while that bill may help a lot of people, it can also cause hardship to some."

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