Student Forums: Respecting Diversity in the Federation

by J.F. Tersigni, Ontario

INTENDED GRADE/SUBJECT AREA

Grade 10 History, Language Arts

INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES

The students will:

learn more about each other and keep the lines of communication open between them;
undertake the task of a disciplined and rigorous approach to study of history;
develop self-confidence and self-esteem;
develop the ability to appreciate the nature of controversy and to recognize the existence of a diversity of opinions in any society;
develop an understanding of the struggles for individual and collective equality, human rights and social justice in North America;
establish new friendships while enjoying the study of history and contemporary issues;
become aware of the challenges facing Canada in North America and freely debate the issues and be able to propose solutions to these issues;
have the opportunity to hear and be able to question—first hand—the leaders and newsmakers of the day who make decisions that will affect us at all levels of society.

BACKGROUND

To teach history is to touch lives forever and history teachers do this every day. Class after class, our toughest challenges and best ideas still come from the most important resource we have in the classroom... our students.

I still remember a fiery discussion in 1989 over the Meech Lake Accord. My students just could not grasp the concept of “distinct society.” Who can... even to this day? It wasn’t until one of my students suggested we invite Quebec students to our school, and ask them face to face.

The forum is a national student summit that brings together students from the Provinces, the Northwest Territories and the First Nation, in debate over Canada’s future. Students gather in Guelph for four days and debate in an open forum, discuss in caucus, listen to and question keynote speakers. They also formulate resolutions aimed at building a renewed, reconstructed federation.

ACTIVITIES

Getting Started

The forums don’t have to be of a national calibre. You can start with just the schools in your board or your province and then work up to a national scale. What follows is a step-by-step format on how to organize and run a student forum. Decide on the issue you want to debate. It could range from global to national to local. Our next forum in Guelph will focus on the Quebec referendum, slated for 1997.

Make a decision on the class of students you want to spearhead the forum. Discuss the whole concept of the forum with your students. If they don’t buy into it, it will be hard to make the project go. I used grade 13 history classes for my first four forums. In 1995, I used a grade 10 Canadian History class for the first time. They needed more direction, but did a super job running the forum.

Meet with your principal first. Not only is the forum a great learning experience for your students, but it is also fantastic for cross-curricular learning for other departments in the school. The forum also offers good publicity for the great things going on in our schools. Set up dates on the school calendar as early as possible. Discuss funding.

One of the most important things to do is surround yourself with a good staff team. Pick out people, either in your department or others, to lead student committees. This is very crucial to the success of any forum.

Set up your student core committee. These will be the student leaders who will organize the other students in the class. Two core students are advisable for each committee. The committee structure could be divided in a number of ways (see lesson plan for committee structure and role of student chairs).

Draft letters to possible keynote speakers. On average we send out invitations to around 20 people. We are usually able to get seven or eight. Persistence is the key, convince them that this their opportunity to influence the next generation.

Try to establish a network of the schools you want to send delegates to your forum. The first forum is always the most difficult, but once you get going, each year becomes easier. Other good sources include the teacher federations, and fellow teachers who may have taught in other schools.

Research the issue. You are the anchor school, so your students must be prepared. Organize the class, with the core committee, into research groups. Divide the topic and start organizing a vertical file that can be used for caucus meetings and as the basis for debate.

The role of the classroom teacher is extremely important. As the Forum Chair, you must maintain close contact with your teachers and the student core committee team. Meet regularly with both.

Your forum should try to provide some sort of balance in scheduling. Provide room for open debate, keynote speeches with a question and answer session, caucus sessions, time-out breaks, lunch, social events and tours. We have found it successful running one speaker in the morning and an open debate in the afternoon. Scheduling will depend on the availability of your keynote speakers. It’s best to schedule them in first and schedule the other events during regular periods. It saves a lot of headaches!

Try to give the student delegates a break from the political aspects of the forum and allow them “down time” to get to know each other. Schedule tours of the town, pizza and movie night. We run a variety show one night with talent (air bands, singers, drama, dancers) from our own school. We also plan one night where we can all eat together at a restaurant.

Plan activities for your visiting teacher chaperones. They deserve a lot of credit for taking on the responsibility of looking after their student delegates and some have come a long way. Get your principal or a staff member on your team to provide a wine and cheese party one night just for them. Let them know you really appreciate their efforts and get their feedback about their experiences in preparing for the forum.

The Forum

Include as many teachers, and subject areas in your school as possible. Allow as many classes as you can to attend the debates and keynote speakers.

Book your facilities early. We run our forums over four days. If you don’t have an auditorium, talk to your phys. ed teachers about using the gym. Be respectful of their schedule as the gym is their classroom.

Set up an award for keynote speakers. We have established a National Canadian Leadership Award that we present to speakers at each forum.

Liaise closely with your delegate schools. Keep them informed about what is going on and how the forum works. More schools will attend if you can keep costs down. We charge only a $10 registration fee, billet all delegates and teachers, and provide food and entertainment.

Make a presentation to the school board. Yes, times are tough, but so is teaching our kids about real live history. We were able to get a budget from the board that covered most of our expense. Consider corporate sponsorship.

Keep the media informed. Good publicity goes a long way in helping to get board approval and corporate sponsorship.

Make sure you have good sound equipment during the forum. The worst thing is not being able to hear speaker or student debate.

Plug into the best resource... your students. Parents can help with transportation; you may have an artist in the class to design the brochure or T-shirt; a design whiz in the class can set up the brochure; other parents may work in a printing, audio or advertising company that may sponsor the forum.

Time. Always make sure your forum sessions fit the scheduled time slot. Students will try to walk out during debates/speakers if it’s lunchtime, to catch a bus, etc. Maintain a strict time frame and stay within it as closely as possible.

STAY COOL. Breakdowns in communication will happen. Be flexible and record any hurdles so you can pre-empt them next year.

Don’t forget to thank your students, staff and everyone connected with the forum. This is important. Write short, personal notes, pointing out how important that person was to the success of forum. Don’t forget the team—after the forum, have a party for your class and all who worked on the forum.

As teachers, we have an important impact on the youth. We must give them the opportunity to speak about the issues that divide us as a nation... to grapple with the problems, propose intelligent, and well-researched solutions. Let our young people talk about history. Let them talk about the future that will one day be theirs.

EVALUATION

When we run the forum it becomes part of my major evaluation for the course. If it does not have significant weight, students may not take it seriously. I usually make it worth 20-25% of the total value of the course. Students can be marked in various ways:

performance during the Forum debates;
reaction paper after Forum that explains the full issues, student involvement, preparation and outline of proposed solutions to the issues;
evaluation reports for teacher advisors, student core committee.

MATERIALS/RESOURCES

These estimated costs are based on 85 delegates participating. Each committee is responsible for all equipment/materials needed. For example:

food and refreshments - $1000 per 85 delegates
microphones, stands, tables, sign, flags - $700
T-shirts - $2000
brochures - $400
buses - $7000
posters/advertising - $150

About the Educator

Joe Tersigni teaches at Our Lady of Lourdes in Guelph, Ontario. Joe initiated and developed The Forum, a national student summit bringing together youth from across Canada in debate over Canada’s future. This event, managed entirely by students, raises interest and awareness of the challenges facing Canada today. Panel discussions have featured prominent Canadian leaders and politicians. Keynote speakers have ranged from Prime Ministers and Premiers, to Native leaders and renowned journalists. Joe had also published numerous articles and has been involved in several Canadian Constitution programs for TVOntario. He has won many awards for his teaching of Canadian history.