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| Jacob Abrahamson Class of 2017 |
Ten years ago, almost to the day, Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts came to the McConnell Center to be a part of our Distinguished Speaker Series. The move may have surprised some because Senator Kennedy and Senator McConnell were so far apart on the biggest issues. However, both men have one thing in common: a love of the United States Senate. That is why the partnership between the Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate and the McConnell Center makes perfect sense. Both institutions were the brainchild of their namesake, intended to be a way of giving back rather than a monument. Both institutions share a dedication to educating Americans about civics and the responsibilities of all citizens. Finally, both institutions care deeply about the legacy of partnerships in the United States Senate. Because of this, the Kennedy Institute was the perfect place for me to gain an understanding of real-world partnerships in helping to create a Senate simulation.
The first challenge of working within a partnership was picking a topic for the simulation. We had to find something that would interest students in middle and high school, but also a topic that would keep our attention for the months we would spend getting the job done. The group was fairly split on ideology and interest, so the discussions were interesting. Some of us were more interested in present-day issues and others enjoyed the idea of recreating a historic Senate debate. We ended up compromising on the PATRIOT Act, a historical moment with huge implications on today. The challenge then turned to delegating and sharing work.
Working in a long-term partnership can be frustrating at times, and deadlines became a major challenge for everyone involved because of the delegation involved. Each person had their own issue area to research and their own section of the simulation to write, so it took a lot of self-starting, mixed with group encouragement, to finish the job. It then took the work of coming together as a group and working out the aspects of each provision that the rest of the group disagreed with. I wouldn’t call that last section fun, because no one really likes having their work scrutinized, but it was crucial to the final product. I personally find that a group negotiation like that is the most productive part of a partnership project like this.
The next step was completing the partnership with the Kennedy Institute itself. They, of course, are the experts at creating an effective simulation which students enjoy and learn from. This meant that much of the work we did had to change in different ways—subtle and big—in order to be successful. This was frustrating at first, but after speaking with the experts I realized that the end product was significantly better after they had made their changes. Thanks to the generosity of the McConnell Center, we were able to travel to the Kennedy Institute in Boston in order to see a simulation in action. The Institute staff was nice enough to sit down with us after the simulation to discuss the simulation and what we liked and disliked about it. This type of interaction was one of my favorite parts of the experience as it made it a true partnership among two organizations who care about civic education.
I can’t thank the McConnell Center enough for the opportunity it provided me to learn about working in a partnership, just as they have with the Kennedy Institute.
Jacob Abrahamson is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He studies history and political science.