This is the first year in which the school is implicating the Civics Action Project to Sophomores and Juniors. Although the task may differ based on the teacher, students have been asked by their history teachers to comment on an issue that directly affects them. Whether the issue is more local or national, students are encouraged to call upon representatives to enact change for the better. This project aims to teach students how to speak out on matters they believe in and to help them feel more involved in the government. 

Each teacher has his or her own unique way of presenting this schoolwide project. Those who have Ms. O’Connor are simply mailing a letter directly to a leader about their chosen issue. Junior Katie Harrington is writing to Senator Elizabeth Warren about her reaction to the Roe v. Wade case and how she feels that reproductive rights in Massachusetts must be preserved. Similarly, junior Katie Sweeney explains, “I am writing to Senator Samuel Alito about the necessity of abortion rights nationwide.” With the relevance and recentness of cases such as Roe v. Wade, it is noteworthy that students have been given the opportunity to comment on such influential issues that will go on to affect their futures.

Likewise, another student of Ms. OC’s, junior Caroline McCarthy, describes, “I am writing about renewable energy to President Biden.” With such a personalized project, students can choose to write about anything that may be of interest to them. Additionally, some students took approaches other than crafting a simple letter.

AP US History students like junior Livvy Halle explain, “for my civics project my class made a video for the Friday show.” This short video listed a number of reasons why mental health breaks during the school day are important. They proposed an idea that involved deducting a small amount of time from each class in favor of a 15-minute break. This break would happen daily and give students an opportunity to decompress and get some fresh air. Additionally, another APUSH student, Sherry Sze, stated, “my class and I protested outside of the school about excessive testing.”

The Civics Action Project is a versatile assignment where many methods could have been used to grasp the attention of administrators and political leaders. This project will hopefully teach Hingham High students how to voice their opinions and exercise their rights as US citizens.