Youth on FIRE
The Kingwood Youth and Government Club gives homeschooled students the chance to participate in a youth-led, civic engagement program established by the YMCA in 1936. As they work through the curriculum, they receive exciting hands-on experience in the
mechanics of government, developing an understand of the process of drafting, revising, and submitting a bill in the Texas Legislature. To bring the process to life, they will learn the format, flow, and language used in Senate and House committee and floor debates as their bill is argued, amended, and ultimately voted on by their peers. The work they put in weekly as part of Youth on FIRE's Kingwood YG club will prepare them to compete with hundreds of other students at the local, 1-day District Conference, finally culminating in a 3-day State Conference at the Capitol in Austin, Texas.
2024-2025 Program Details
Meeting Times and Registration
The Middle School and High School Government Club will meet weekly on Fridays from 1:00pm to 2:00pm in Kingwood beginning August 30th and continuing through the end of February 2024. Club meetings are free to attend and require no formal registration.
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If your student wishes to participate in the YMCA Youth & Government Program Legislative Section, there is a registration fee of $100 that covers the YMCA's programming fees as well as all curriculum, support, supplementary materials, and preparation for conferences offered by Youth on Fire for the 2024-2025 program. Registration is required if your student would like to submit their bill, have access to additional events/invitationals/trainings offered by the YMCA, or attend the local or state conferences.
Conferences
Interested students have the option to showcase their work and compete at the YMCA's District Conference in Houston in November. Qualified delegates are then invited to travel to Austin, TX to compete in the Capitol Building at the state conferences in late January (middle school) and March (high school).
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The YMCA hosts these events and charges a fee for registration to each conference. In addition to financial aid offered by the YMCA, students will have the opportunity to plan and coordinate fundraising during our weekly meetings.
Curriculum
During the 2024-2025 year, students will participate in the Legislative Section. Throughout our meetings, we will cover the history, procedure, and implications of democracy in a bicameral legislature at the state and federal levels.
Students will research an issue of their choice to gain a deeper understanding of how and why laws are made, the various government agencies involved in regulation and enforcement, and the impact of new laws at state and local levels. After selecting a topic that they are passionate about, they will learn how to research, format, and write an original bill. Following a peer review and revision process, they with submit their bill to the YG legislature. In preparation for the District Conference, students will learn the paths a bill takes through the Texas Legislature as it works it way through committees, debate, amendments, and presentation on the House or Senate floor.
After much research, practice, and support, they will develop the poise and confidence to deliver an oral presentation of their bill in committee. Students will work to achieve mastery of not just their chosen topic, but of the specific language, decorum, and format used in legislative sessions. Importantly, they will fine-tune the art of diplomacy, negotiation, and leadership in preparation to field questions and engage in productive debate with fellow delegates as they defend their own bills as well as scrutinize and argue for or against other participants proposed laws.
"Our children should learn the general framework of their government and then they should know where they come in contact with the government, where it touches their daily lives and where their influence is exerted on the government. It must not be a distant thing, someone else's business, but they must see how every cog in the wheel of a democracy is important and bears its share of responsibility for the smooth running of the entire machine."
-Eleanor Roosevelt