This week, a number of high school students from the Freire Charter School in Philadelphia came south to the nation’s capital to engage in some old-fashioned democratic action. They were in town to tell their representative, Rep. Chaka Fattah, that they wanted him to support the Public Service Academy bill. Neatly dressed and eager to get started, they arrived at Union Station on a beautiful spring morning with their arguments ready for the Hill. After a successful meeting in Rep. Fattah’s office — his staffer said that the representative likely will endorse the bill soon — they spent a few hours dropping in on members of the Congressional Black Caucus. They made a great impression wherever they went — one staff member in Rep. Edolphus Towns’ office wrote the Academy to say she was particularly impressed with their “lovely presentations.” Too often, Americans take our democracy for granted and assume that “someone else” will do the hard work that democracy demands of its citizens. Not the kids from Freire Charter School. They are learning firsthand about how democracy works and how they can influence policy.