There’s a class of seniors at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, the politically correct place to matriculate these days, who are really into the Constitution.
These youngsters are not just riding a wave of fascination with their recently acquired Washington connections, either. They were constitutional scholars even before their famous alumna went on to become first lady.
In fact, they are the two-time state champs in a grueling Constitution competition with the ungainly title of “We the People, the Citizens and the Constitution,” which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and run by the Center for Civic Education. After winning in Illinois, they’ve gone on to place third and fourth in the last two national championships.
A lot of the credit for the students’ intense interest in U.S. government and law naturally goes to the teacher who coaches the team, Pat Feichter, a 23-year veteran at Maine South who lives in Elk Grove Village.
Recently he was named outstanding teacher for American history in Illinois by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and he said he thinks he received the honor primarily because of his work in producing class after class of teenage constitutional experts.
“The DAR liked that constitutional competition a lot, and to me, it’s one of the most marvelous learning devices I’ve ever found,” Feichter said.
Feichter said there is just something about the oral contest that ignites enthusiasm in his students, spurring them to spend an inordinate amount of their time immersing themselves in the Constitution, how it works and its history.
“They study for this contest harder than for any test I could ever give them in the classroom, sorry to say,” he said, laughing. He added that the youngsters meet with him before and after class beginning in early December and that they often get together for lengthy sessions at home on the weekends.
There is no rule on how many youngsters participate in the team competition. There are six groups, usually having two to five members, so Feichter said he lets seniors in his fourth-period advanced placement government class “choose themselves.” Because they have to be in that class, enthusiasts sometimes will transfer in to be part of the team, which calls itself A.P. Hawks (for “Advanced Placement” and the school’s mascot).
Feichter makes the extracurricular prep sessions interesting. He brings in constitutional lawyers and judges, history teachers and speech teachers to talk to the youngsters. The week before the state contest, they have a mock competition, where a battery of teachers “hits the kids with every question we can think of,” Feichter said.
You’d think there a new sports car or at least a college scholarship were at the end of the ordeal. No way. Just pride and prestige and a medal for the top three national winners, said Feichter.
“The kids get so into this, that last year they burst into tears when they finished fourth out of 50 schools,” said Feichter.
This year his students have an added incentive to win in the Illinois contest and make the trip to the nation’s capitol: A former student of Feichter’s is a clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court, and he has promised to take them on a private tour of the top court’s quarters.
And they could always give Hillary Rodham Clinton a call, too.
Congratulations
Grandma Rita Mullins, the mayor of Palatine, had her beeper sitting right by her side all through Tuesday’s Village Board committee meeting. The big call she didn’t want to miss was news of her impending grandmahood.
But like most babies, Morgan Ashley Martin, the 9 pound 10 ounce girl of Mullins’ daughter Amber and son-in-law Skip, chose to come in the middle of the night. She arrived long after the meeting ended, close to 1 a.m. Wednesday.
And like all new (and not-so-new) grandmas, Mullins claims bragging rights.
“This baby is beautiful,” she bubbled. “Really.”
Charity ball
Every year Arlington Heights has a glitzy village ball, with the proceeds going to a different charity.
This year the theme of the ball, set for March 13 at the Woodfield Hilton and Towers, is a takeoff on the Ascot Ball, which is appropriate, since the Woodfield Hilton, despite its name, is right next to the racetrack. Elaborate hats are not required.
Tickets are $100 a person, or $125 a person for dance floor seating. The price includes valet parking, coat check, dinner, cocktails and entertainment and dancing featuring Franz Bentler and the Royal Strings Orchestra. There also will be an auction featuring such glamorous (and fitting) prizes as a skybox suite at the racetrack.
The charities destined to benefit from this year’s proceeds are Public Action to Deliver Shelter of Northwest Cook County and the Hope Center.
Happy 100
Anne Wheaton, a resident of the St. Joseph Home for the Elderly in Palatine, hit the century mark Monday, an event marked by a special mass and dinner and a party for residents. She is the only centenarian at the home.
