Tuesday, March 21, 2000
Congressman takes civics lesson to the floor - of school library
Head count is important
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE — Second- and third-graders know a lot about the 2000 Census. They told Congressman Ken Lucas all about it Monday.
“It's when you guys see what a community and everyone needs,” Shane Schuller said.
Mr. Lucas, D-Richwood, and Bruce Suedkamp, a census representative, spoke with Maureen Randall's class at the Collins Elementary library Monday as part of the national “Census in Schools” program.
Seated on the floor with students, Mr. Lucas answered questions and explained why filling out census forms is important.
“I want to be sure people in Kentucky are counted so we can get our fair share,” Mr. Lucas said. “We want you to go back home and talk to your parents and tell them this is important.”
Mr. Lucas told students about the Constitutional mandate to conduct a census every 10 years. He gave each child a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution.
And he explained what happens when people are not counted.
“Before the last census, we had seven members in Congress and we lost one because of the number of people counted in 1990,” Mr. Lucas said.
Counting people is also important to understanding the kind of place that America is, Mr. Lucas said. He told students Hispanics are the fastest-growing part of the country's population.
“America is called a melting pot because a lot of different people from different countries come to live here,” Mr. Lucas said.
Samantha Maxwell wanted to know why some people get a “longer census” than others. Mr. Suedkamp told the students about the long and short forms mailed to residents.
“It's very difficult to get the long forms back from the public, so we do long and short forms to get a sampling of the full population,” Mr. Suedkamp said.
Other students wanted to know how long it takes to fill out the forms, and what some of the questions are.
Short forms should take less than five minutes to complete; the long form can take up to 40 minutes, Mr. Suedkamp said. To help students remember to talk to their families about the census, he gave them pencils, rulers and red balls, all emblazoned with the Census 2000 logo.
The civics lesson also gave students a chance to learn what members of Congress do, and how they get their jobs.
Mr. Lucas explained that he received the most votes in an election.
“What I do is represent you and your parents and grandparents and friends,” Mr. Lucas said. “We make public policy and laws. If your parents have problems, we are there to help them work through the red tape.”
None of the students asked what “red tape” is.
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