Welcome To Barbaric High...
In Mr. Leonard's world history class the kids are learning about democracy. In order to understand the concept better, they were assigned an activity in which they were to create their own government.
"Imagine that you're shipwrecked on a deserted, uncharted island," Mr. Leonard began. "There's no chance of being rescued, so you all need to work together to build a community."
"Are you on the island, too?" asked a girl in the front row.
"Nope. It's just you guys out there. Now, you'll have forty-five minutes to make a flag--you can use the board if you'd like--and then decide on who's going to hunt and gather food, cook the food--"
"The girls can do that!" shouted a husky boy in a football jersey.
"Okay, listen guys," Mr. Leonard spoke over the laughter and protests. "You guys need to figure this stuff out for yourselves. Who's gonna fish, who's gonna explore the rest of the island, care for the ill. What rules will there be on your island, and what are the punishments. All these things you guys need to decide. And remember, I'm not here. So off you go!"
Immediately, several of the more boisterous kids stood up and raced to the whiteboard. Sean, a tall black kid, started drawing the outline for a flag, while Tom and Angela were arguing over who was going to come up with the island rules. A small group of students gathered around these three, but the majority of the class remained in their seats and watched passively.
As the forty-five minutes clicked by, the level of noise rose and the arguments flourished.
"Who wants to be president?" "Why can't there be a committee?" "If you vote for me I'll give you a dollar!"
"I wanna be treasurer." "But there's no money."
"I wanna be the cook, so I can poison y'all."
"Hey, everyone's guilty until proven guilty!"
"There's no jail, so if you get in a fight we're gonna kill you." "Yeah, we'll throw you off the mountain."
"Everyone's gonna die cuz we gotta sucky doctor!"
"No, we don't have no women executers." "If you kill someone, you're getting hung!"
A short kid yelled out, "If you're taller than six-five we're choppin' off your legs!"
By the end of the forty-five minutes, the kids had a rainbow colored flag with a swastika in the middle. A list of rules proclaimed that people who were found guilty of any crimes would have their hair cut off and be tossed into the volcano. The really bad ones would get "hung." Only girls cooked, but the guys would hunt and then lay around all day. Gay people would be fed to the sharks.
"Alright, guys," Mr. Leonard said, shaking his head sadly. "In the last forty-five minutes you guys returned to the stone ages."
He then proceeded to criticize their barbaric government. He explained how a proper democracy was supposed to work and how it meant that people had the right to vote in their leaders. He pointed out how the majority of the class didn't even participate in the forming of the government and compared them to the millions of people who failed to vote in America.
"So do they have a right to argue and complain about the government?" Mr. Leonard asked.
"NO!" shouted several students.
"You're right. Each of us has the right to vote, but if we don't exercise that right then we have no business complaining about the things we don't like about our government. Now, as you guys have learned, forming a democracy is hard work. It's tough getting everyone to agree. So you should appreciate what we have in America. Now, remember that when you're old enough to vote."
"Imagine that you're shipwrecked on a deserted, uncharted island," Mr. Leonard began. "There's no chance of being rescued, so you all need to work together to build a community."
"Are you on the island, too?" asked a girl in the front row.
"Nope. It's just you guys out there. Now, you'll have forty-five minutes to make a flag--you can use the board if you'd like--and then decide on who's going to hunt and gather food, cook the food--"
"The girls can do that!" shouted a husky boy in a football jersey.
"Okay, listen guys," Mr. Leonard spoke over the laughter and protests. "You guys need to figure this stuff out for yourselves. Who's gonna fish, who's gonna explore the rest of the island, care for the ill. What rules will there be on your island, and what are the punishments. All these things you guys need to decide. And remember, I'm not here. So off you go!"
Immediately, several of the more boisterous kids stood up and raced to the whiteboard. Sean, a tall black kid, started drawing the outline for a flag, while Tom and Angela were arguing over who was going to come up with the island rules. A small group of students gathered around these three, but the majority of the class remained in their seats and watched passively.
As the forty-five minutes clicked by, the level of noise rose and the arguments flourished.
"Who wants to be president?" "Why can't there be a committee?" "If you vote for me I'll give you a dollar!"
"I wanna be treasurer." "But there's no money."
"I wanna be the cook, so I can poison y'all."
"Hey, everyone's guilty until proven guilty!"
"There's no jail, so if you get in a fight we're gonna kill you." "Yeah, we'll throw you off the mountain."
"Everyone's gonna die cuz we gotta sucky doctor!"
"No, we don't have no women executers." "If you kill someone, you're getting hung!"
A short kid yelled out, "If you're taller than six-five we're choppin' off your legs!"
By the end of the forty-five minutes, the kids had a rainbow colored flag with a swastika in the middle. A list of rules proclaimed that people who were found guilty of any crimes would have their hair cut off and be tossed into the volcano. The really bad ones would get "hung." Only girls cooked, but the guys would hunt and then lay around all day. Gay people would be fed to the sharks.
"Alright, guys," Mr. Leonard said, shaking his head sadly. "In the last forty-five minutes you guys returned to the stone ages."
He then proceeded to criticize their barbaric government. He explained how a proper democracy was supposed to work and how it meant that people had the right to vote in their leaders. He pointed out how the majority of the class didn't even participate in the forming of the government and compared them to the millions of people who failed to vote in America.
"So do they have a right to argue and complain about the government?" Mr. Leonard asked.
"NO!" shouted several students.
"You're right. Each of us has the right to vote, but if we don't exercise that right then we have no business complaining about the things we don't like about our government. Now, as you guys have learned, forming a democracy is hard work. It's tough getting everyone to agree. So you should appreciate what we have in America. Now, remember that when you're old enough to vote."
posted by Grant-Will-Rant at
4:54 PM
3 Comments:
That exercise seemed transparent enough to me, but then I'm not a dumb high school student.
I think I would approach a situation like that a bit differently, but I disagree that a complete democracy (okay, perhaps for a community of about 30, or so) is the best way to establish a society.
It seems to me, at least for initial development, a certain amount of "Just do it" is required from a person in an authority position. You can't sit and chat about the different needs of society and who is going to meet them forever. Only after basic needs are met are such luxuries afforded.
That's why I've accepted this role as Supreme Chancellor. And as my first act, I will create a clone army of the Republic! Errr, wait.
By
Anonymous, at 4:42 AM, September 10, 2005
That was an interesting lesson. I only hope they took to heart the results of their folly—but, then again, they are young skulls of mush.
The real lesson should be that both a complete democracy and a dictatorship are not viable. The first will allow the not-so-outspoken to be unrepresented while the latter results in dissent. That is why we, as Americans, live in a constitutional republic—allowing a selected group of representatives to determine the greater good of the public by drafting such a constitution; then, in turn, allowing the selecting public to vote on the validity of said draft.
While this is the only form of government I have experienced, it appears to me to be the best in consideration of all human rights.
By
Rooney, at 7:29 AM, September 10, 2005
I was gonna launch into my "America is not a Democracy and thank god!" speech but Rooney and Oliver stepped all over it.
So I'll just say that the real lesson is highschoolers are stupid, and politicians act like highschool students. So in the long run... we're all screwed.
Loved the rainbow flag with the swatstika... that's... special.
And Oliver, when I become the official Queen of the Universe, I'll make you Supreme Chancellor... and you can have a clone army too! Only they have to be clones of the pretty boy in my office. The world needs more of him. :)
By
Anonymous, at 9:18 PM, September 10, 2005
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