APPSE is gearing up for the season

To gear up for its long term objective of getting to Washington DC for competition, the Wauwatosa East APPSE class is engaging in trial runs against rival Wauwatosa West.

APPSE is the official abbreviation for American Public Policy Special Emphasis, a class exclusive for juniors and seniors. At Wauwatosa East, the overall goal of APPSE focuses on learning the more in depth parts of the constitution, and students aim to develop this expertise while working towards the “We the People” competition in Washington DC, which occurs each year in April.

APPSE replaces the standard APP (American Public Policy) class that is required for all students in order to graduate. While both classes are difficult, APPSE is intended to be even more rigorous due to the competitive aspect involved. APPSE students compete against different schools starting at the district level, answering questions involving the constitution in front of a set number of judges. Based on the performance in these regional competitions, they can advance to the state level, and if successful at the state level, they may be approved to compete in the national “We the People” competition.

The class is split into six units, and, according to APPSE student, junior Abby Wood, “Each unit focuses on a different theme, so each unit covers a different part of the constitution.” Each team, consisting of five or six members, develops an argument and answers a series of questions during competitions.

“Questions are different judge to judge, and the students must answer the question in the form of a statement,” explains current APPSE teacher, Mr. McHugh. The questions are created at the start of every school year, by the Center for Civic Education which is a nationwide organization that focuses on the study of government in schools. “The question can be something as dense or as difficult as dealing with our second amendment, the right to bear arms, and where that line should be drawn. Sure you can own a gun, but does that mean you can have the m15 that can fire the 60 rounds a second?” says McHugh.

APPSE is all about teamwork, working as a unit to form a solid argument. Part of the team is teaching assistant (TA) Jesus Villa, a senior and two year member of APPSE. “After state happens, the winner goes to Washington DC, and there the team is asked three questions,” says Villa.

Since APPSE also involves competition, unlike APP, the APPSE teams spends more time outside of school researching their topics, to supplement class time. Since they have this extra time spent outside of class with their teams, APPSE students really have the opportunity to bond as friends as well as classmates. “We faced against Wauwatosa West the last three years but unfortunately lost. But I think this class has the ability to take them on and send us all to Washington. And I also think it would be a really good bonding time for everyone” says Villa.

When asked how the current APPSE team is looking this year, Mr. McHugh said, “I think that we’ve had a lot of talented teams over my years at Tosa East, but I think this group has a lot of potential and it’s all about putting in the time and effort, not only from them but for me.” It will be interesting to see how the team shapes up this year and how far they will go.