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Conduct a model parliament session or Gram Sabha in class on local issues - cleanliness, responsibilities towards public property, or school safety.
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In short:
Debate changes the proposal - that is the point of the exercise.
What to do
- Divide the class into a presiding officer (Speaker or Sarpanch), a ruling side, an opposition, and citizens who raise problems.
- Pick one issue, either cleanliness, care of public property, or school safety.
- Follow a real order of business, in which citizens raise the problem, a proposal is made, both sides speak, questions are asked, and then the house votes.
What to include
- A Question Hour at the start, where members question those responsible.
- At least two opposing views, so that a real debate takes place.
- A decision taken by vote, and a record of who was present.
What you will find
- Most groups discover that the discussion changes the proposal, because the version passed is rarely the version proposed.
- Groups that skip the opposition's turn produce weaker decisions.
- Results will differ between classes, and that is the point.
Conclusion
- Debate, dissent and voting together produce better decisions than any one person deciding alone.
Recording table - sample
Issue discussed
Cleanliness of the school campus
Proposal made by
The citizens' group, a "Clean-Up Friday" every week
Main argument in favour
Waste near the canteen builds up, and weekly cleaning costs nothing
Main argument against
Friday is a full teaching day, and the school already employs staff
Decision taken
Clean-up on the last Friday of every month, in the last 20 minutes of the day
Votes for and against
26 for, 11 against, 3 abstained
Revision: How the house reached a decision
Problem raised
by the citizens
Proposal made
Both sides speak
Question Hour, debate
Vote taken
↓
The version passed is rarely the version proposed - that is what debate does
