I like to create and implement lesson plans. I enjoy standing in front of a classroom when I am well-prepared with an outline of the learning expectations we hope to accomplish and the activities that will help us get there that day.
I also am quite willing to toss those plans out the window when an unforgettable, irreplaceable learning opportunity presents itself. And this week’s parliamentary furor, culminating in national addresses by both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition leader Stephane Dion, was exactly such an opportunity.
Like most Canadians, I’ve been glued to the unfolding events in our Parliament over the last week. At school it has been on people’s minds and in their conversations. Fellow teachers have been discussing, debating, and placing friendly bets on the outcome of this Canadian political drama. (And let’s face it: how often can we put “Canadian politics” and “drama” in the same phrase?)
So even though my teaching subject is English, it was only natural for me to turn this drama into a learning opportunity for my students, many of whom will be 18 by the end of February when we could be facing another election.
Close to the end of our class period, we started an informal discussion about federal politics and how Canada is governed. The role of the Governor General was interesting in itself. We chatted about the new government (elected only 7 weeks ago) whose fate was being decided today, and the coalition that proposed to take its place. I shared with my students the idea that for the rest of their lives they would hear today’s events being referenced. This was history in the making.
We then watched the speeches by both Prime Minister Harper and Stephane Dion, thanks to a new-this-year internet connection in the classroom and an available LCD projector. Then students shared their opinions of the contents of those speeches.
The speeches themselves, along with today’s speeches following the Governor General’s decision to prorogue Parliament, will provide excellent material for media analysis. Watching how each party frames its position and uses media to its advantage (or hopelessly bungles its use of media) will be an unforgettable experience for students.
So for the next few days, lesson plans are dropped in favour of some hands-on learning that should, I hope, help students become informed and active citizens as well as literate English students.
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Image by preciouskhyatt
