The past two weeks, we continued our unit on governance, focusing on how different types of organisations — public and private — work together to support the needs of citizens. After revisiting the roles of government services, private businesses, and community organisations, students reflected on what people need to live safe, comfortable, and happy lives. From those conversations they generated long lists of essentials: health care and emergency services, schools and libraries, reliable transport, places to buy food, safe streets and affordable housing, parks and community spaces for social life, and supports for both children and the elderly.
With those needs in mind the class became urban planners. Working in groups, students designed a town for 5,000 residents that balanced public and private establishments to meet diverse needs. Each team sketched a city map, carefully labeling schools, clinics, police and fire stations, markets, housing, parks, and transport links. Some towns emphasized walkable neighbourhoods and local markets clustered around community hubs; others placed health and social services near high-density housing and transit so vulnerable residents could access them easily.
We then moved into a role-play called The Last Community Standing. Every group appointed a mayor and an auditor. Mayors stayed in their towns to welcome visiting auditors and tell the story of how their town served its citizens. Auditors rotated through towns in a series of story-based rounds, each round presenting scenarios that tested whether the town’s services met citizens’ safety, comfort, happiness, and budgetary constraints. Auditors used a checklist and a point system that began with ten points in each category; they adjusted scores and explained their reasoning, grounding judgments in the facilities and governance choices they observed on each map. The round-robin format encouraged students to think like both service providers and civic evaluators: they learned to weigh trade-offs, defend planning decisions, and consider how governance structures distribute resources and responsibilities.
The final phase built directly on governance in action. Winners from The Last Community Standing became town leaders and convened a Town Council. They listened to citizen concerns gathered from classmates and formed committees to address key issues: safety, economic growth, food and water, cleanliness and ensuring emergency readiness. Committees drafted proposals that named objectives and proposed actions. Presenting to the whole town, committee members received questions and feedback. Through this process students experienced how local governance operates: identifying community needs, forming policy responses, negotiating priorities, and seeking public approval.
The students deepened their understanding of governance beyond definitions. They saw how public institutions can guarantee essential services, how private enterprises can complement those services, and how community decision-making shapes outcomes for different groups.
Watching students move from listing needs, to mapping services, to debating policy, and finally to creating proposals, was powerful. They didn’t just learn about governance in the abstract — they practiced it, tested it against real-life scenarios, and saw how thoughtful planning and democratic processes can shape the well-being of a community.
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On another note, the children have already begun inquiring on their Exhibition unit and have chosen the passion that they would like to explore in the next two months.
Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Your homeroom teacher,
Ms. Pam
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