ATHABASCA - Twelve Grade 6 French immersion students got the opportunity to bring their curriculum to life in February with field trips to an Athabasca County council meeting and the Town of Athabasca’s council chambers.
Landing Trail Intermediate School’s 6F class took its annual field trip to a county council meeting Feb. 29, taking thirty or so minutes to ask councillors questions ranging from, “What’s your favourite part of your job,” to, “What does Athabasca County spend the most money on?”
“It’s my favourite meeting of the year,” said county reeve Brian Hall. “It’s exciting to have these young folks come, and to see the enthusiasm that’s inspired by their teacher for learning about municipal government and community involvement by extension.”
“We got to meet some really interesting kids who are clearly motivated and inspired by their teacher, and that’s what makes it my favorite meeting,” concluded the reeve.
Jennifer Jones, Grade 6F’s teacher, said the structure and function of local government is a significant outcome in the Grade 6 social studies curriculum, and the trip was a good opportunity to get the kids engaged in their community.
“It’s the perfect age to spark an interest and develop a deeper understanding of how their community operates,” said Jones. “It is important for young people to understand that local government has a direct impact on their day-to-day lives.
The students also got the opportunity to see how a council meeting is run, like what a public hearing is, how it works, and why it’s important.
“Understanding local government responsibilities, including how and why decisions are made, will help those students become fully engaged members of the community,” said Jones. “I hope in the future, this will inspire students to use their democratic right to vote in elections and possibly consider running as a candidate for our local government.”
Q&A
Students took turns asking councillors questions, directing each question at a specific councillor. Connor Fitzmaurice led things off by asking Coun. Joe Gerlach what had changed since his last foray into public service — Gerlach was initially on council in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“The County of Athabasca also was in charge of the school board; the school board was a committee of council. That changed in the early 90s when Aspen View was formed,” said Gerlach. “There are dozens of things, but one of the most significant things is that there are 50 per cent less farms than there used to be.”
Other questions included what the best part of the job was (“getting to know people better,” said Coun. Natasha Kapitaniuk), how often people call with concerns (once or twice a week said Coun. Gary Cromwell, although it depends on what’s going on) and what the most expensive thing in the county’s budget was (the road network, said Gerlach).
“We have approximately 2,400 kilometres of road to maintain in Athabasca County to maintain, and at this point I’ve driven every inch of them,” said Coun. Rob Minns in response to another student’s question about the road network. “There’s positives to the lack of snow right now and there’s negatives, but that’s just mother nature for you.”
August Hurrie-Delancy asked a question that cut right to the core of the curriculum — what is the most important service that Athabasca County provides its residents?
“With my background, I tend to lean to the infrastructure services the county provides,” said Coun. Ashtin Anderson, a civil engineer by trade. "Maintaining our roads and bridges are the most important services we can provide to our residents, simply because it effects almost every resident within our community, as well as the majority of our visitors.”
Hall took a minute to speak with the students about the importance of being involved in their community after a student asked if councillors would recommend giving back to the community through municipal politics to run for council when they were older.
“I would encourage you to run for things where you feel you have skills to offer,” said the reeve. “Your highest and best offering might be on town council, or county council, but it might be as a coach of a hockey team, or as a 4-H leader. Yes, we need people running for elected offices like these, but communities work when everyone comes together.”
Gerlach added on to Hall’s comments, adding that while the compensation was nice, it wasn’t why councillors ran for office.
“Some of the best feelings you get as an individual come when you’re out there to serve others and contribute to your community. It’s probably the greatest justification for what we do, it’s beyond compensation. It’s very self-fulfilling,” said Gerlach.
