Event teaches civics

I am writing in response to the Buell Hollister letter of July 7. We know several teachers, and they say civics is not taught like it once was. Civics is crucial to understanding how government works.

If you go online to the Nethercutt Foundation, you will see what they do. This year we went to the civics tournament sponsored by the Nethercutt Foundation. The students had studied civics on their own to prepare for the tournament. The first place scholarship for $10,000 went to a young man going to high school in the Spokane Valley. He will be attending university this fall.

The Nethercutt Foundation will fly the student and one parent to Washington, D.C. They will tour the monuments and meet members in the House of Representatives and Senate. The junior high winner who came in second receives $1,500 to be held in trust until she is ready for college. Former Rep. George Nethercutt will take her, along with one parent, to tour our state capital and meet state and local legislators.

The grade-school winner receives a $1,000 scholarship to be held in trust for her education. She, along with Nethercutt, will be shown around City Hall and meet local officials. Students can continue to compete every year. So you see civics is important. This is how students learn how government should work!

Sharon Silzel

Spokane