Congressman Keith Ellison, US House Representative for District 5 visited Edison on Monday, October 31st and shared the importance of being a strong citizen. Students submitted several questions to Ellison that came from class exercises and discussions. Below is a sample of these questions.
• During our “Legislative Simulation” I was frustrated when the other members of the House didn’t vote or participate. Does that happen often at our federal level and if so, how do you deal with that?
• How do you manage representing the vast array of people and opinions of the 5th District? Specifically, how do you handle being the representative for someone that you might disagree with or has ideas that you believe to be unattainable?
• As an immigrant, can you explain to me why I need a Social Security Card/Number to get a driver’s license, get a job, or buy
a home?
Keith Ellison’s visit to Edison tied directly into the 12th grade’s unit on Legislative Branch of Government. Throughout the unit, two sections of students operated as the Congress (2nd Hour Senate/4th Hour House). Edison’s US Government teacher, David Salzer, acted as the Executive Branch and Edison’s Administrative team acted as the Supreme Court. The students attempted to write legislation to better Edison and discovered, through simulation, the difficulties of legislative work.
Rep. Ellison shared his four main points of his platform:
1. Working class prosperity
2. Environmental sustainability
3. Civil and human rights
4. Peace
The students were very excited to meet Rep. Ellison and have their voices heard. They walked away with a better understanding of the types of challenges US Representatives face each day.