Are you smarter than a middle-schooler? If you attended Friday’s National Civics Bee Colorado finals, you’d have stiff competition.

The Bee is now in its third year, according to Loren Furman, president and CEO of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. The Bee is sponsored nationally by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The morning led off with welcoming remarks from Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver.

He recently told Colorado Politics about why civics matter. That began with his “Obama moment,” when then-Mayor Wellington Webb walked into his seventh-grade classroom, and said, “I’m the mayor and I represent a half-million people,” and here’s the things he does to help his community.

Coleman now regularly visits schools as a chance to pay it forward. While those students don’t vote, they do pay taxes on their purchases at the local convenience store. Coleman uses that as an opportunity to tell them that they’re paying him, and other lawmakers, to take care of Colorado.

“Civics shows that you have power to help us as elected officials to make a positive difference in the state of Colorado,” he said.

The competition began last November with more than 300 students submitting essays. Those essays were evaluated, and the top 18 students were invited to the state championship, held Friday at the Cable Center at the University of Denver.

The essays submitted by the 18 semi-finalists offered real-world solutions to important issues such as water conservation, ICE raids in schools, and bullying in schools and the workplace.

Five finalists were selected from there. All five of them stated that they entered the contest as a class assignment in either language arts or history.

Essays were judged on their understanding of civics, use of research and references to support their idea, along with knowledge of the sources they use. Students were tasked with developing an innovative concept that addressed at least one founding principle and one founding principle and one civic virtue, such as the Bill of Rights, majority/minority rule, due process, liberty, equality or justice.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 

more than 70% of Americans fail a basic civic literacy quiz. In comparison, more than 75% of adults view political illiteracy and division as significant problems.

Students who participate in the Bee aren’t just studying civics, the national Chamber said in a statement; they’re applying it.

The main event on Friday featured the 18 students who went through two rounds of 10 civics questions each. Based on their correct answers, the top five students competed for the chance to represent Colorado in the nation’s capital in November and the top prize of $100,000.

The questions weren’t easy.

Emcee Kyle Clark of 9News asked the 20 questions that would determine the finalists. Clark admitted to being stumped on at least one question, quipping, “I can’t believe they know this stuff!”

The question: Which scenario would be a case of state regulation that would be declared unconstitutional by the precedent in Gibbons v. Ogden of 1842?

The answer choices:

• A. A state passes a law that taxes income earned within the state.

• B. A state passes a law imposing tolls on bridges that connect to other states

• C. A state enacts a law requiring local fishermen to obtain state permits for fishing in state waters, or

• D. A state sets specific safety requirements for toxic chemicals transported by rail into its state borders that conflict with federal standards.

Once the final five were chosen, they presented their essays, along with the solutions to the problems they had uncovered and then answered questions from a panel of six judges.

For one young man from Boulder, his essay touched on a personal level. Cameron Parker is a student at Horizons K-8 School in Boulder, and his family was evacuated during the Marshall fire in 2021. His father never got an emergency alert. Instead, he found out a colleague was evacuating his neighborhood, Parker said while presenting his essay. His solution: a free cellphone app, to be offered by all wireless companies but with an opt-out option, that would provide those emergency alerts.

His solution, along with his responses to questions from a panel of judges, earned Parker the $1,000 prize and the trip to Washington.

Parker told Colorado Politics that his history teacher, Ryan Conrad, informed him about the opportunity and encouraged him to apply. At first, “I didn’t take it seriously,” he said. But going through the process, Parker said he learned how much he enjoyed civics. And while college is still a few years off, Parker said he’s been looking at areas such as law, business, biology or engineering, at colleges like Harvard, Purdue or CU-Boulder.

The audience included proud parents and family members, local officials and teachers from some of the competing schools.

Josh Drexler is the principal of Darren Patterson Christian Academy in Buena Vista; his son made the final 18 this year, and last year’s winner was also one of his students.

Students learn the ability to engage in dialogue, consider someone else’s point of view, and have their viewpoints challenged, as well as learn to influence others, Drexler said. It’s a process that’s crucial to a healthy democracy and community, he said.

As to the success of his school in the Bee, Drexler pointed to the history teachers and their use of the Socratic method, including learning to “think on their feet.”

Tamara McCann teaches eighth-grade American history at Faith Christian Academy in Arvada. So, how does she combat disinformation/misinformation and help students navigate civics in the country’s politicized environment?

“I make sure I don’t show my side or my beliefs,” she said. “I want students to look at an issue not feel one way or the other because an adult is presenting that information. “A huge challenge is to get students to be open-minded about what’s being presented and showing how complicated an issue is.”

In last year’s election, students were required to learn about the candidates, and “their minds were blown” when they realized there were more than just two political parties competing.

“It’s important to me that as students are studying history and current events that these are real people who have their own lives being impacted” and how they make decisions, and what students can learn from that, McCann said.

Competitions are currently backed by six local chambers of commerce around Colorado. At the national level, 39 states are competing, but Hannah Skandera, president and CEO of sponsor The Daniels Fund, said they expect all 50 states to participate next year. The first year drew in only five cities, but this year it will be at 200 or more, she said. And that could draw in a million students.

“You see these kids come together, learning together,” Skandera said, even when they have differences on the issues of the day.

John Suthers, a board member of the Daniels Fund and former mayor of Colorado Springs, was one of the judges. “I love this event,” he told Colorado Politics. “It’s what our country needs. I’m hoping the involvement of our young people will inspire older people to think more about civics,” he said.

The Daniels Fund got involved when they saw a survey that showed how little civics knowledge kids had; they couldn’t say how many branches of government there are, and he also noted that most adults can’t pass the U.S. citizenship test. A national bee can spur more interest in civics, he said.

And by the way, the answer to the stumper question is D: A state sets specific safety requirements for toxic chemicals transported by rail into its state borders that conflict with federal standards.

The Colorado finals will air at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 31, on 9News’ KTVD Channel 20.