A Student Civics Interview Series
Siblings interviewing the leaders who shape our communities
What does a Texas Supreme Court Justice do every day? How does a city council member decide which projects to fund? Two young Texans set out to find out — by asking the officials themselves. This series brings government to life through the eyes of curious young interviewers.
Texas Supreme Court Justices
We sit down with several Justices of the Texas Supreme Court to learn how cases reach the state's highest bench, what a typical day looks like for a Justice, and why the rule of law matters to every Texan.
Houston City Councilwoman
How does a city councilwoman decide which neighborhoods need new parks, safer streets, or better lighting? Our young reporters meet with Houston City Councilwoman Mary Nan Huffman and ask the tough questions about local government and community service in America's fourth-largest city.
Piney Point Village
What does it take to run a Texas city? From budgets and emergencies to ribbon cuttings and town halls, we explore what public service looks like at the local level in this wide-ranging conversation with a sitting mayor.
West University Place
In this second mayoral conversation, we dig into what makes each Texas city unique — and explore how local leaders work with state government, businesses, and neighbors to keep their communities thriving.
Young Voices, Big Ideas was born from a simple question: what if children could ask our public officials the questions kids actually want answered?
Two Houston siblings are the driving force behind this series. They research each official, prepare their own questions, conduct the interviews, and present the conversations here for students across Texas and beyond.
Our hope is that watching a fellow young person speak with judges, council members, and mayors will make government feel less distant — and inspire the next generation of civic leaders.
The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Summer 2024)
Written by us, this law review article tells the full story of our Texas Supreme Court interview project — from the original idea and letter-writing campaign, to the interviews, the video editing, and the response from schools across Texas.
Read the Article (PDF)ABA Journal — Anna Stolley Persky, September 5, 2024
The American Bar Association Journal covers our project, featuring quotes from the justices themselves and from the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, who reached out to encourage us to publish our article.
Read the ArticleThese interviews are designed to supplement social studies and civics curricula for grades 3–8. Each video can be used as a standalone lesson opener, a discussion springboard, or paired with a worksheet. We are happy to share discussion guides — please contact us at the email below.
Interviews cover Texas-specific government structures as well as broader American civics concepts, making them useful for both state and national curriculum standards.