Open for Debate
My mother asked me this weekend what I thought of student government. Me being me, I wanted to know if she meant student government as a topic or a specific student government in particular. After I got Patented Mom Expression # 14 (Withering Disapproval) the whole story came out.
My mother is a school teacher at a middle school in a smallish rural town. (God Bless Her) It's a low income area and the school exists for the most part on government grants. The principle has approached her recently about beginning an extracurricular activity and she was considering a student govt.
I told her that in my opinion student govt. served two purposes.
#1 When the administration has a fundraiser or public event the student govt. are excellent candidates for sticking with any of the jobs that would require one to sweat.
#2 It looks good on a college application.
I told her that it was, ultimately, a token position with no actual power and more often than not a popularity contest. That since less than 5 to 10 percent of the students in the school would attend college at all and less than that graduate it barely even provided reason #2. I went on to say that a better idea would be something more along the lines of a 'social activities' club. The goal of which would be to teach and or get the children involved with both Speech and Debate.
For Speech: Copy a set of speeches written by other people on various topics and distribute them. Each child must then look up any unfamiliar words for proper pronunciation and then familiarize themselves with it enough so as to be able to give the speech from a podium looking more at the audience than the speech itself. The eventual goal being to learn how to prepare and give a speech in front of a group of people you don't know and could care less about what your saying with confidence. Speaking clearly and maintaining the audience's attention as much as possible.
For Debate: The goal would be to learn to construct and defend an argument. At this point someone in the room, I will not say who, mentioned that these kids didn't need teaching about how to argue. They knew how to do that already. I responded, No. Not a verbal fistfight where the goal is to use volume, speed and a colorful vocabulary to batter your opponent into submission, but how to construct a logical argument. To pick a point of view and research it so as to construct a supporting statement for it. Then to research the opposing viewpoint so as to answer any rebuttal given in a rational manner.
Since few of these students are going to be attending college but instead immediately entering the work force. (Don't get mad at me okay? I didn't say shouldn't, I said won't. The statistics for the area don't lie.) Being able to speak and present themselves in a calm profesional manner would not only be an asset in future job interviews but depending on how well they did allow them into a different class of interviews altogether.
Believe me I know what I just said sounds pretty classist, but I didn't go to college, and I *did* spend a fair portion of my life where safety pins and manic panic had more to do with my wardrobe than it didn't. Looking back I can only think that my vocabulary and ability to speak with confidence was the only reason I got some of the jobs I did. The first I can blame on being addicted to scifi/fantasy from the time I could read, the second I can only ascribe to luck.
So I've lived the job future most of these kids are looking at, and I think that sort of experience would be more beneficial than a token student government. But the reason I mention this here today, oh Flist, is that it's entirely possible that I'm wrong. Did any of you have or were part of a student government that was both beneficial and educational? Did I lie to my mother? I have only my own experience to draw on, I ask therefore for yours.
My mother is a school teacher at a middle school in a smallish rural town. (God Bless Her) It's a low income area and the school exists for the most part on government grants. The principle has approached her recently about beginning an extracurricular activity and she was considering a student govt.
I told her that in my opinion student govt. served two purposes.
#1 When the administration has a fundraiser or public event the student govt. are excellent candidates for sticking with any of the jobs that would require one to sweat.
#2 It looks good on a college application.
I told her that it was, ultimately, a token position with no actual power and more often than not a popularity contest. That since less than 5 to 10 percent of the students in the school would attend college at all and less than that graduate it barely even provided reason #2. I went on to say that a better idea would be something more along the lines of a 'social activities' club. The goal of which would be to teach and or get the children involved with both Speech and Debate.
For Speech: Copy a set of speeches written by other people on various topics and distribute them. Each child must then look up any unfamiliar words for proper pronunciation and then familiarize themselves with it enough so as to be able to give the speech from a podium looking more at the audience than the speech itself. The eventual goal being to learn how to prepare and give a speech in front of a group of people you don't know and could care less about what your saying with confidence. Speaking clearly and maintaining the audience's attention as much as possible.
For Debate: The goal would be to learn to construct and defend an argument. At this point someone in the room, I will not say who, mentioned that these kids didn't need teaching about how to argue. They knew how to do that already. I responded, No. Not a verbal fistfight where the goal is to use volume, speed and a colorful vocabulary to batter your opponent into submission, but how to construct a logical argument. To pick a point of view and research it so as to construct a supporting statement for it. Then to research the opposing viewpoint so as to answer any rebuttal given in a rational manner.
Since few of these students are going to be attending college but instead immediately entering the work force. (Don't get mad at me okay? I didn't say shouldn't, I said won't. The statistics for the area don't lie.) Being able to speak and present themselves in a calm profesional manner would not only be an asset in future job interviews but depending on how well they did allow them into a different class of interviews altogether.
Believe me I know what I just said sounds pretty classist, but I didn't go to college, and I *did* spend a fair portion of my life where safety pins and manic panic had more to do with my wardrobe than it didn't. Looking back I can only think that my vocabulary and ability to speak with confidence was the only reason I got some of the jobs I did. The first I can blame on being addicted to scifi/fantasy from the time I could read, the second I can only ascribe to luck.
So I've lived the job future most of these kids are looking at, and I think that sort of experience would be more beneficial than a token student government. But the reason I mention this here today, oh Flist, is that it's entirely possible that I'm wrong. Did any of you have or were part of a student government that was both beneficial and educational? Did I lie to my mother? I have only my own experience to draw on, I ask therefore for yours.