Jefferson City, Mo. – From Monday, April 17, 2023, through Friday, April 21, 2023, homeschooled and private schooled teenagers from across Missouri went to Jefferson City, Missouri, for TeenPact Leadership Schools. Teenagers learned about the government, about how a bill becomes a law, about the different types of elections, and about how to grow in their faith.
The Students
Although the first two TeenPact Missouri classes had over eighty students each, Missouri III had a little over thirty students for the four-day class. The 8-12 year old class had about the same number of students. The Political Communications Workshop (PCW) had only nine students.
Four-Day Week
During the week, the teenagers were able to run for clerk, chairman, senator, and governor. The students also went on prayer walks to pray for the elected officials and the state of Missouri; they also worshiped together in the morning to start off the day. They met in committees to pass and fail bills. Every day, the students had a chance to participate in TP-Leg, or TeenPact Legislature, to debate over the bills they passed in committee.
Evening Session
In the evenings, the TeenPacters had a chance to play some ultimate frisbee, football, and volleyball, or just talk to each other before supper. After eating, they worshiped together, listened to the class director give a message, and then went to their rendezvous. After the evening session, the students could meet back at the hotel for coffee house to eat some snacks and make long-lasting friendships.
Friday
On Friday, the 8-12 year olds did almost everything the four-day class students did, but just in one day. The kids also had a chance to participate in a Bible drill, and for their TP-Leg, they got to debate the bills in the Missouri House of Representatives chamber.
PCW
For the PCW class, the nine students were divided into teams to compete against each other all day. The students worked on their negotiation skills and speaking skills, including speaking on the fly.
