Homeschoolers and the Congressional Page Program

by Julie Gentry | More from this Blogger

31 Mar 2007 01:36 AM

Earlier this week, we went to our state's annual Homeschool Day at the Capitol. It was wonderful. People had traveled several hours to get there, and there was a permeable sense of expectation. It's put on by a conservative Christian homeschool organization, and it was not only the audience that reflected that. I was very encouraged to hear the many different speakers echo many of my own views. Because the legislature is in session, they were working, taking time out of their busy days to give us three-to-five minute speeches of encouragement.

The first congressman came out and spoke about the wisdom of not planting a seed in dirty water, but preparing the ground to plant it in fertile soil. He was, of course, making an analogy to government high schools vs. homeschools. The second was a Representative who was also a homeschooling grandmother. She urged parents to stand firm in their commitment, thanked us for the sacrifices we make, and told of her experiences with the homeschoolers who had worked for her over the year. Another (the chair of the education committee!) actually thanked us for saving the taxpayers millions and millions of dollars every year. It was one of the last ones, though, that piqued my son's interest.

He invited every homeschooler there between 14-16 to apply to become a page. He said that, in his experience, homeschoolers overall made better pages because they were interested in the process as well as the immediate duty. He went on to briefly explain the Page School and duties. I could see my 14 year old craning his neck to hear every word that echoed off the marble hall. After the speeches, we took a fantastic tour that included sitting in on the actual Congressional votes. David said that was his favorite part of the day.

Having kicked around the DC area in my twenties, I was aware of the page programs for the Federal Government. I guessed I'd never even thought of it on a state level. The Federal Program is for older teens and is highly competitive, often given to sons or daughters of a campaign contributor. Additionally, pages are housed in mandatory dorms, which is not something I want for my children. So I was a little surprised to hear them actively recruiting youths for the state program.

In our state's program, the pages are paid $35 per day. They go to school in the morning for two hours, to learn in-depth about the political process. They do their page duties all afternoon. Then they come home (or stay with a homestay family). We're very excited about it. Both David and Jenna are going to apply. I can't imagine a better curriculum for government than a week of hands-on experience.

I'll let you know what we hear! You might want to check out your state's page program. The information should be listed on your state government site.

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Julie is affectionately known as GoGo Mama to her friends since she seems to always be out and about.

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Andrea Hermitt (5512) 31 Mar 2007 06:26 AM

Sounds wonderful, we will be applying for our states page program until my kids get in, my son applied too late this year.

Julie Gentry (5915) 31 Mar 2007 09:25 AM

You live back east, right? It's probably a LOT harder to get in. For us, they were just about begging for people *s*. Good luck! Have you tried visiting your congressman directly? We're going to go that route (ours lives within 30 minutes, though, and is accessible.) We definitely need more "Homeschoolers on the Hill". I'm hoping that it will nurture that spark in him, and that later he'll go into politics. I was very encouraged by the number and the strength of conviction of the representatives who spoke!