Grade 6 students from Shevchenko School in Vita enjoyed an exciting and educational field trip last week that gave them a close-up look at how local government works.
Their destination was the Rural Municipality of Stuartburn office, where they had the chance to meet Reeve Michelle Gawronsky and other municipal staff.
Reeve Gawronsky explains that Grade 6 teacher Ms. Storoschuk brought her class to Chambers for a lesson on municipal government.
“What are we responsible for? How we have to answer to the provincial government, the federal government, who we work for, how we become Reeves and Councils and the fact that we work for the folks that have elected us to be there.”
By the end of the visit, several students were inspired by what they had learned. Seven of them expressed interest in pursuing a future in municipal government.
Gawronsky was impressed by the thoughtful questions the students asked, especially considering they’re only 11 years old.
“They asked phenomenal questions,” she says. “It was like, so how do you get a road built, and when you're doing the permits, how do you do a permit, and what rules do you have to follow? And so, we talked about everything from the municipal act to bylaws within a community and how you go out and get elected.”
One student even expressed interest in becoming a Reeve someday.
“A young man asked me, ‘So how do I get elected when the time comes?’ It was a wonderful, wonderful afternoon. We absolutely had a great day with the kids, and we appreciate Ms. Storoschuk so much for being able to let the youth know. In fact, one of the young men sat in my chair, the Reeves Chair, and he decided he likes it a lot,” Gawronsky shares.
With the students only seven years away from being eligible to vote, Gawronsky says it's very important that they start learning about the process and why voting is so important.
“I'm so proud of Ms. Storoschuk. She takes them for the provincial voting, and they did their own little scenario on how you do this and what does it entail? What are the responsibilities? And what are the benefits of having an RM in Stuartburn? If we didn't have the RM that was there, there would be no rules. There would be no transfer station. The fire department wouldn't be organized and put into a place.”
The discussion also touched on taxes, municipal budgeting, and operational costs.
“When they found out what the cost was, they kind of like ‘Holy smoke’.”
With an effort to continue the conversation and teach more students about municipal government, Gawronsky posted on Facebook inviting students to an RM meeting.
“I gave a heads up to parents, I said that I have invited your children to come to any RM meeting they would like to, especially our budget planning. We need the input from our community, and do we have it right or not? Or would you rather see things moving? I would rather have the folks come now and give us suggestions rather than we pass it, and they come at me later because they're angry. So, here's their opportunity to come talk to me.”
She expresses her gratitude to Ms. Storoschuk for making the visit happen and helping prepare the next generation.
“Thank you so much for being progressive, for recognizing that this is our future. It's our future, and they need to understand there's responsibility with becoming an adult. When she's able to educate them in a way that has it being positive, they were very excited to be coming down. They've asked if they can come back, and I said you can come back on your own anytime. So it was really good.”
With files from Adi Loewen