Political Science students at the CTE Center are taking a step into the political process by writing letters to their legislative representatives that will be sent out on Friday.

Cory Cummings, Survey of Government and Political Science Teacher at the CTE Center, chose to have her students complete this assignment in order to show them that they have a role in their government.

“We are not bystanders of policies created by legislatures, but participants,” Cummings said. “My hope is that my students discover this power at an early age, and embrace it through their years as they enter adulthood.”

This assignment, along with a presentation, wrapped up the Branches of Government Unit in Cummings’ class.

“We started off this assignment by researching all of our representatives,” Lebanon Trail, junior Vasudha Thittai said. “That included their political party, major platforms, and more basic things like terms served.”

While many representatives in North Texas are of the Republican Party, Cummings encouraged her students to write about what they are passionate about regardless of whether or not they fall into the same party as their representatives.

“My only hope is that students understand their voice matters, regardless of politics or policies,” Cummings said. “I’ve tried to communicate that it’s okay to write to a representative to agree with them as well – they’re human and like to know they’re doing a good job too! It’s your voice that matters to me, regardless of who is in office.”

Some students, such as Centennial sophomore Maya Ramesh, still decided to take their representatives’ political leanings into account when deciding the topic of their letters.

“I chose to write to Angela Paxton about the implementation of sex education into the curriculum,” Ramesh said. “I tried to pick a somewhat neutral topic that she and I might agree on, rather than one that would showcase our differing opinions more.”

Along with their letters, students are also tasked with creating a “Frustrating Friday” presentation. This presentation gave students the freedom to select any current topic going through legislatures and create a presentation about why it frustrates them.

Cummings implements the presentation into her classroom as a way to provide an outlet for her students.

“In life, there are things that come along that just frustrate us,” Cummings said. “Sometimes it feels good to not just get it out but to know we hold influence over the outcome. It’s not important to just know something bothers you, but what are you going to do about it.”

With a wide variety of viewpoints in one classroom, students acknowledge the possibility of having vastly differing opinions from those of their peers.

“There are definitely people in my class that I don’t see eye to eye with,” Thittai said. “However, I do really like the opportunity to get to share my views and possibly gain some input on opinions I typically disagree with.”

Cummings’s primary goal, with both the presentations and the letters, is to make her classroom a safe space for her students.

“I am aware my viewpoints could have influence over a conversation, so I have always done my best to keep myself out of the equation and encourage my students to uncover their own truths,” Cummings said. “That holds true with peers in a classroom as well. My only hope is my room is a safe space to discuss issues, whatever they may be, and that everyone has a chance to be heard.”