[siren] announcer: preparing today reduces the consequences of a disaster tomorrow. turning a 20-foot wall into a canvas takes vision. so will getting into college. i've got what it takes. so do you. >> here's what's happening on "teen kids news." >> how much do you know about your rights as an american? i'll have the results of a nationwide test. >> do you have what it takes to be a leader? we'll hear from students who are on their way to becoming officers in the u.s. navy and marines. >> we'll hear from a young surfing champion about what it takes to ride the waves to success. >> follow me inside the

lazy 5 ranch, where we can meet the tallest animal in the world -- the giraffe. >> and we're just getting started, so stay tuned. >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm livia. here's our top story for this week. >> in recent years, we have seen people in othcountries struggle to form governments that work. but how much do we know about how oown government operates? a nationwide test found a lot of teens need to learn more. lauren has the story from washington, d.c. >> if i asked you which rights were protected by the first amendment, how would you respond? >> the one right that's protected by the first amendment is freedom of speech. >> correct. in addition to freedom of

speech, our constitution protects several other rights -- freedom of the press, religion, peaceful assembly, and the right to petition for grievances. that's considered basic knowledge of civics for american eighth-graders by the national assessment governing board. >> the national assessment governing board is a board that sets the policy for the national assessment of educational progress, otherwise known as naep. the main goal is to ensure that we can measure the knowledge across different subjects for all students in grades 4, 8, and 12. >> the board regularly tests a sample of american students. then it issues a report card stating how many of us are performing at three levels. so, explain the difference between the three levels. >> at the lowest level of achievement, if you will, we have basic, then we have students who are demonstrating more knowledge of information -- proficient -- and then those who are demonstrating even higher levels of understanding at the

advanced level. >> with civics, what did the report card find? >> we found, first, that our fourth-graders, there was an upward trend. so they were doing well, if you will. they were increasing with their scores over the last assessment that was given for civics. eighth grade was flat -- not a real decrease, not a real increase. that was not encouraging. >> only one in five eighth-graders scored at or above "proficient." that means they could answer questions like "what is the role of the supreme court?" >> to judge and analyze the different laws and interpret -- i think it's interpret different laws. >> yes. the supreme court rules on whether or not laws are constitutional. most of the kids we interviewed didnknow the answer to that question. that's one of the reasons why former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor is joining the effort to educate young people about civics. she has helped launch an educational website at icivics.org.

maybe the country's 12th-graders should log in now. their performance is down from the last civics test. >> well, it shows that we have a lot of work to do. it shows that we really have to groom our students so that they can understand what it means to become engaged citizens, and that starts with understanding their civics. >> so many americans have fought and died to protect our rights. the least we can do is learn about them. for "teen kids news," i'm lauren. >> there's a lot more ahead, so stick with us. >> "teen kids news" will be right back. revlon just bitten. it's a two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color while the moisturizing balm softens my lips. have you ever been bitten? revlon just bitten lipstain and balm.

>> every sport has its own

vocabulary. can you guess the sport if i say "barrel" or "dumpster diver"? how about "wipeout"? [ surf music plays ] if you said "surfing," you're right. and these days, you really can't talk about surfing without mentioning lakey peterson. the teen surfer is riding a wave of impressive championship wins. she started at the age of 5 near her home in santa barbara, california. it helped that her mom was an olympic swimmer and the beach was nearby. >> i think the thing that drew me into it was i live right on a perfect little fun wave, so it was really easy for me to just pick up my board and go out and surf all the time. >> by the age of 16, lakey was the top female pick for the u.s.a. surf team. since she's homeschooled, she's able to travel the world for the top competitions. lakey's mastered some amazing techniques -- like this one. >> where you're going on the wave and then you launch into

the air and grab your board and do a 360 and then land back on the wave. >> that's called an air reverse. like just about all individual sports, surfing is judged on a combination of factors. >> to judge competitive surfing, it's on a scale from 1 to 10 -- 10 being the best, 0.1 being the worst. it depends on the wave and what the wave offers you. but most of the time, it's how well you surfed the wave, so if you maximized every opportunity you got. they would want to see someone do, like, a turn and then go straight from that into an air reverse, like we were talking about earlier. >> surfing comes from hawaii. early boards were made out of wood and were rather heavy. today, most boards are made out of lightweight foam. the one lakey uses is a new design. >> it's super-, super-wide. the tail's really wide, as well, and it's thicker than normal. it goes really, really fast 'cause you have a lot of foam. it's very responsive, so any little movement you do, it

really just follows everything you do. and it's called the dumpster diver. it's awesome. [ laughs ] >> when a wave is breaking, it creates a hollow tube. surfers call it a barrel. >> barrel is pretty much when the wave is spinning, so let's say this is the wave, right? the barrel is in here, where you're under the lip. you're behind the lip, and it's going over your head, and you're going through it. >> and if you fall off your board, that's a wipeout. >> people say, "oh, you just got worked." that's a wipeout term. [ chuckles ] >> lakey is not only an ambassador for surfing. she's also a spokesperson for the student conservation association. they help clean up national parks. >> i love it because what i do as a surfer, the environment has to be clean for me to do what i do, so it's really nice knowing that they're helping out with my

sport, too. >> you don't have to be a surfer to give the student conservation association a helping hand. to learn more, check out our website. revlon just bitten. it's a two-in-one lipstain and balm. the lipstain gives me a light flush of color while the moisturizing balm softens my lips. have you ever been bitten? revlon just bitten lipstain and balm.

>> it's one of the best colleges in the country, it's free, and its graduates help protect us all. here's an up-close look at the u.s. naval academy, where students learn to be leaders. >> they patrol above... and below all seven seas. [ engine roars ] their fliers are the top guns of

combat aviation. they're often the first to hit the beach... prepared to fight... or as part of an american humanitarian effort. they are the men and women of the united states navy and marine corps. many of the officers who command these forces started their careers here -- at the u.s. naval academy in annapolis, maryland. >> it's a very special type of person that chooses the naval academy. it's an unbelievable education, it is free, you do get a job when you leave, but there is that element of commitment to the country and also an element of self-discipline. >> i love the atmosphere. i love being around all the history. the naval academy's been around since 1845, and the tradition is astounding. it's great being a part of that. >> i think the naval academy offers a very unique opportunity to discover yourself, to grow as

a leader, and to basically live and learn with the best and brightest, i think, in our nation. >> we're trying to find the horizontal distance as a function of the number of pumps to the squirt gun. today, we're doing a reverse-engineering experiment. as you can see, they've got these squirt guns. so, they're gonna pump it a few times, put some water in it, and see how far it will spray. and then the next thing that they're going to do is disassemble it. and we're going to try to write mathematical equations that describe the behavior of the squirt gun. the ultimate endgame of this class is to get students excited about engineering and to get them familiar with the principles that they'll be using in the next three years here at the naval academy. >> classes like these help make the academy one of the top engineering schools in the country. >> so, right now, my partner and i are getting our model set up so that we can conduct the lab for our "principles of ship performance" class.

>> finding out how to prevent capsizing is certainly a good thing to know if you're going to be a naval officer. >> it's cool to get both the engineering side and the practical side of it. >> that's why hands-on training is so important at the academy -- whether it's learning how to handle a boat powered by wind or by engines, like these yps. >> yps are yard-patrol craft. they're 108-foot and 130-foot training vessels used to go anywhere from key west up to boston. we have a pretty wide operating range. >> 36 degrees. let's spark advance on the engine, okay? we're starting at 36. we're gonna go advanced as we can. >> in today's navy, officers also must understand the complex aerodynamics that keep fighter jets in the air. >> i decided to come to annapolis because my father was in the navy and he flew planes, and i decided i wanted to do the same thing -- follow in his footsteps and serve my country.

>> the compression ratio goesy. from 5 to 1 on a centrifugal, to a 15 to 1 in a compressor like this one. >> we are definitely a technically oriented school. we are very heavy into the math and sciences, and we have a great engineering and mathematics curriculum here, but we also serve humanities and social sciences, as well. >> our students attend classes and have to complete a degree program, just like at another university. they take a well-rounded curriculum. >> and you can major in anything from political science all the way to electrical engineering. >> the naval academy has a language of its own. for example, the students are called midshipmen. >> the term "midshipman" actually comes from the olden days when younger boys were training to be sailors on the ship and they lived in the middle of the ship, but now the term is used -- it's gender-neutral -- as a student at the naval academy. >> the entire student body -- about 4,400 midshipmen -- is referred to as "the brigade."

it's made up of smaller units, such as squads, platoons, and companies. when they march in formation, it's called a parade. a hat is a cover. and this door does not lead to the office of the headmaster. i'll explain that in a minute. >> we want those students who strive to be leaders in their community. >> students face a lot of competition to get here, and you need to be recommended by a member of congress or by the vice president. but don't let that scare you. their offices will be happy to help you if you have the right grades and character. >> so, we know and understand those students exist in all places and all corners of the country, so we like to attract those students. >> we'll have more on the naval academy when "teen kids news" continues. remember that door marked "head"? it's navy-speak for... [message beep]

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>> it's hard to believe, but after the american revolution, congress shut down the navy to save money. because of the need to fight pirates, president george washington won funding in 1794 for a permanent navy. then in the 1840s, the u.s. naval academy was established in maryland. each year, more than 1,200 students, called plebes, arrive to start life at the academy. what they experience during "plebe summer" is something they'll never forget. >> [ chuckles ] plebe summer occurs the summer before you enter the naval academy. it's about two months of training that everyone has to go through. it's intensive. it's to break you in to a military environment, especially for those who have never been involved in the military in any aspect before. >> so, you're gonna get a crash course in physical fitness, you're gonna get a crash course in military indoctrination, you're gonna get a crash course in just overall discipline, time management, and bearing.

you're gonna do push-ups, you're gonna do sit-ups, you're gonna learn who your friends are, you're gonna become one with the brigade of midshipmen. >> teamwork is definitely a watchword here. in fact, it's tradition to end plebe year by placing a midshipman's cover -- a hat -- on top of herndon monument. talk about teamwork. >> there were definitely points, especially during plebe year, where i thought to myself, "you know, carolyne, you gave it all you could, but this is it. this is where the line ends for you." and someone would come along and say, "you know, you got a little more." and i crossed what i thought was my limit, and it's come to a point where i honestly don't know where my limit is, because every time i've set the bar somewhere, somebody's helped push me past it or i've come to learn to keep pushing myself. >> just like on a ship, midshipmen here live in rather close quarters. in fact, they all reside in bancroft hall, said to be the largest college dormitory in the world. it's also where they all eat. >> for noon meal on weekdays, we have something called

noon meal formation. every company forms up by platoons, and the naval academy band will play "anchors aweigh," and we will march into bancroft hall and go eat. [ crowd cheering ] >> like other college students, midshipmen compete in sports, play instruments, do theater, community service, and all kinds of clubs. and, as we reported, admission to the academy is free. >> what you pay is a commitment. so, you're committed to the four years that you're here, and then after that, you're gonna be committed to five years of service as a leader within our nation's military -- particularly the navy and the marine corps. >> and at this point, i'm hoping to go to a destroyer -- a ddg -- out of pearl harbor, hawaii. >> i'm going to join the submarine force. >> i hope to be a surface-warfare officer in approximately seven months and enter the fleet, serve on a destroyer or a cruiser, ideally. [ crowd chanting ] [ crowd cheers ] >> wherever they go after graduation, these new officers

in the navy and marine corps take a lot with them -- training, honor, confidence, and friendships that will last a lifetime. >> you cannot imagine the friendships that you make while you're here at the naval academy. >> well, you can start thinking about it as early as seventh and eighth grade, really. the service academies in general, and the naval academy specifically -- you want to just start to establish a relationship with the academy, and that's essentially submitting your name to our contacts database and going onto our website and just checking things out. >> i know undoubtably that even once i leave this institution and we all scatter throughout the world on different deployments, different stations, we're still gonna have this bond, we're still gonna be friends, we always share this one experience that is the naval academy. >> the motto of the academy is "from knowledge, seapower." that certainly explains why ours is undoubtably the best-led navy in the world. to find out more about the u.s. naval academy, check out

the link on our "teen kids news" website.

i hope you find a home. i hope you find a home. hey, maybe you'll be picked next. maybe you'll be picked next. we've been caged together too long. we've been caged together too long.

how come nobody ever picks me? maybe they're looking for somebody different. pick me! well, the shelter's closing up for another day. we didn't get picked. i know. tomorrow. guaranteed. >> this report is brought to you by nintendo. gamers, get ready to start your engines. nintendo's driving a lot of buzz here at the l.a. auto show. over the years, millions of us have tested our racing skills with the "mario kart" series. well, fasten your seat belts, because now there's "mario kart 7" for nintendo 3ds. the game has customizable karts, new courses, and abilities that bring the fun to new heights. for the first time, you can explore new ways to race -- like soaring through the skies or plunging into the sea. to help roll out the game, nintendo asked world-famous car customizers west coast customs to help them with a very special project. >> once we started working with them, we really saw that there

was a linking of our dna. they're very creative. nothing is impossible for that team, and it really fits what we're trying to do. >> together, they brought two karts from the game into real life. [ cheers and applause ] >> every detail was done, from the big screws that are in the back to just the paint colors to the design of them -- i mean, just everything about them from top to bottom. if you took that mario kart and you took it out of the video game and you put it in front of you, that's what's right here. >> mario's standard kart and luigi's bumblebee kart have features never seen before in any other "mario kart" game. this one has a super glider so it can soar past other racers. a propeller helps this kart navigate underwater tracks. of course, these karts don't actually fly or operate underwater. that's just in the game. the game also lets you race with mario and his friends in 3d for the first time. >> my favorite part's the 3d glider. >> visitors to the auto show got a chance to take the "mario kart 7" game for a test ride. they even battled each other in

multiplayer tournaments. up to eight people can play together. >> the thing i like about it is you can customize your own karts now. >> playing "mario kart 7" is great. you can fly, change your wheels, and change the color and character. >> i think the game is, like, 10 out of 10 -- in terms of fun. >> "mario kart 7" is rated "e" for "everyone," and there is no doubt it is "on track" to be at the top of a lot of wish lists this holiday season. at the l.a. auto show for "teen kids news," i'm kennedy. >> in this next report, you might say "teen kids news" is reaching new heights. here's carly. >> follow me inside the lazy 5 ranch, where we can meet the tallest animal in the world -- the giraffe. some are up to 20 feet tall and weigh almost 2,500 pounds. they have long necks, but i was surprised to find out that they only have seven vertebrae in their necks -- just like you and i. they can see their enemies from long distances and can run up to 35 miles an hour. that's fast. giraffes usually live in african grasslands, savannas, or open

woodlands. they love to eat the branches and twigs from the top of acacia trees and shrubs. >> i'm gonna do a little something special for you, okay? now, if you take this leaf and hold it right in your mouth, just like this... he'll come over and he'll eat it right out of your mouth. okay? >> awesome. [ laughs ] they also drink a lot of water, and that helps them to live longer in dry areas. giraffes only sleep for about 4 1/2 hours a night. the giraffe's fur may serve as a chemical defense and has a very strong scent. that is why the male giraffe is sometimes nicknamed "stink bulls." peeee-yew! did you know that a giraffe has a purple tongue? >> well, a giraffe has a purple tongue because in the african desert, it's very hot out there, and they can get sunburned. >> wow. i wasn't expecting that answer. at lazy 5 ranch in north carolina, i'm carly, and this is "teen kids news." >> that's it for this week. thanks for joining us. >> we'll see you next week on "teen kids news."

>> write to us at info@teenkidsnews.com. on behalf of everyone here at "teen kids news," we want to give a special thanks to all our military overseas.

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