FOSTER PARK : 6th-Graders Get Lesson on Need for Government

A stranger in sequins and feathers appeared in the midst of a group of sixth-graders at a park. She demanded a tribute, claiming they had invaded her territory.

The stranger gave the 31 Cabrillo Middle School students just 20 questions to discover the nature of the tribute.

“Do we have to find it?” asked Atul Bakshi.

“Is it alive?” called out Rebecca Reynolds.

“Is it bamboo?” asked David Osborne.

The children fired off questions until they had used all but six. At that point, some students began to organize the class. Groups were formed to carefully frame the last questions.

The class had accomplished one of their teacher’s goals for the day. They learned the need for government, largely by experiencing the chaos that results in a group with no organization.

The activity was part of a daylong outing to Foster Park near Casitas Springs for gifted sixth-grade students.

“I think it is important that we actually develop lessons that will focus on leadership,” said Margaret Gosfield, Gifted and Talented Education specialist for the Ventura Unified School District.

“Leadership is one of those underlying concepts that needs to be constantly reinforced in working with these children so they can become those leaders that we really need in our country and society,” she said.

After considering democracy, dictatorship, laissez faire and communism as types of government, the class voted to experiment with oligarchy, such as the city-states that ancient Greece had.

Five students were chosen by Gosfield as oligarchs-for-a-day.

While the rest of the class worked on projects, the oligarchs made decisions about distributing reward points, designing a communication system and organizing a search-and-rescue effort for a lost teacher and student.

“It was hard making decisions for everyone. I didn’t know if they’d like them,” Marissa Ellis said. But she said she liked being a leader. “I guess I’d do it again.”

And Elijah Lessard said he enjoyed “using our imaginations and letting them wander as far as we wanted.”

Some of those who were not chosen expressed some criticism, however. “I thought the oligarchy was OK, but the leaders were not that good,” Ashley Faulkner said. “I think I could have done a better job on some things.”

Teacher Henry W. Carlisle was pleased with the way his class was learning. “It’s easy to plan it all and give them no choices. But if they have the freedom to make mistakes they learn and remember better.”