Mr. Catalin Ursu’s French Socials 10 class is learning about the importance and the logic behind the Canadian government system through a series of lessons and interactive projects involving elections and political campaign ads to compete with fellow classmates.
Students chose a political party on the scale of left to right, such as Communism, Fascism, Democrats, Conservatives, New Democratic Party, etc. Upon deciding where they will stand on the scale, students’ research and film a video in an attempt to persuade their classmates to vote for their group in the upcoming class election.
“You can’t be a good citizen without knowing how your country works,” said Ursu. “The country works especially because of the main institutions, the government and the parliament. In order for the students to better understand how these things work, I thought a practical approach would be more practical.”
The election consisted of students watching each party’s campaign video, and then casting their votes for the party that they believed to be the most competent.
“I think this project was really helpful, I learned a lot more than I expected about different parties“, said Lia Jin, grade 10 student. “We had to research other parties like fascism and communism. The fact that we’re learning this, I think it will help us in the future.”
After students cast their ballots, the votes were tallied up and the “new leading political party of Canada” is the Communist party, the Revolutionary League of Communist Workers. The Conservative party came as runner up, making them the Ghost Cabinet.
There are several reasons as to why the Communist party won. It seems that it is most likely due to their campaign ad, as the advertising make communism appear very idealistic. It’s also possible that students voted for them purely for humorous purposes. No matter the intention, the communist members were pleased with the outcome.
“Social Studies helps in defining ones identity. What I mean by this is to realize what you are, in relationship with your history,” said Ursu. “Once you understand the history of your background, one may find it easier in placing oneself in that environment.”
