The Civic Mirror at the 2009 STA Convention

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Civic Mirror

Join Regan Ross for a full-day Civic Mirror game/workshop at the 2009 Surrey Teacher’s Association Convention. Check out the Civic Mirror Trenches Blog for highlights from a recent Civic Mirror workshop for educators.

By playing The Civic Mirror, participants will learn:

Its game rules and major events,
How the online program works and how it sets up classroom events,
How to use its Web2.0 tools to extend learning outside the classroom,
How to capitalize on the teachable moments it provides (related to law, government, economics, and active citizenship)

For more info on The Civic Mirror, click here.

For conference registration and location information, click here.

This workshop is ideal for British Columbia teachers who want to enliven their classrooms with this citizenship simulation, especially teachers of Social Studies 11, Civic Studies 11, Social Studies 8 – 10, Law 12, Economics, Business Ed., as well as other courses.

Posted in CM News | Tagged BC, Civic Mirror Workshop, Events | Comments Off

Citizenship Simulation Kicks Washington State Social Studies Retreat Up a Notch! (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Civic Mirror

Part 1 (of this two-part series showcasing a weekend-long Civic Mirror game/workshop for Washington state social studies teachers at the 2009 Lake Chelan Leadership Retreat) left off with Justice Campbell asking Congress to determine exactly what “appropriate compensation for presidential services” is, so he could decide whether President Parkinen was guilty or innocent of embezzlement.

The three senators left the room to discuss. Before this trial, however, several citizens accused the Senate of being in cahoots with President Parkinen, so the pressure to redeem themselves and make a just decision was mounting.

When they returned, they took turns explaining their position. First Senator Pete spoke, rather passionately, about “what is fair.” This generated a heated discussion and Justice Campbell had to wrap the mallet and call for order in the court. Some citizens thought President Parkinen’s alleged transaction (where she moved $20,000 from the government account into her own, personal account) was acceptable because the law didn’t state she couldn’t. Others argued it was down-right criminal: they were penniless, homeless, and starving, while the President – with her two mansions and healthy financial portfolio – thought that there was nothing wrong with fluffing her account up by $20,000 (i.e. 20% of the cash in the economy).

Senator Pete Presents his Interpretation of the Constitutional Law

Next, and after listening to the counsel of her miniature but brilliant political adviser, Senator Currie spoke, explaining that – in her opinion – $20,000 does in fact exceed the implicit notion of “fair.”

Senator Currie Offers her Interpretation of the Issue

Senator Currie offers her comments on the issue.

And here we see Senator Connor explain how Congress decided that $1,000 per year would be “fair compensation” for services rendered as President. Congress successfully maneuvered out of a tight spot with the support of the people.

Senator Connor Breaks Down the Numbers for Members of the Court

With Congress’s decision, Justice Campbell was ready to make his judgment. He wanted, however, to verify that the alleged dollar amount was $20,000 … something the President never admitted to, claiming instead that it was a fabrication. Justice Campbell ordered her to disclose her financial records using the computer projector. It was a moment of truth.

Justice Campbell Requires President Parkinen to Disclose Personal Money Transactions

And was the proof ever in the pudding.

President Parkinen's personal financial records indicate she

President Parkinen's personal financial records indicate that she indeed withdrew $20,000 from the Government's Treasury, without Congressional approval.

There it was, for all to see, the $20,000 transaction with a comment written to herself, “Pay Day.” Yet, in a shocking judgment, Justice Campbell concluded that President Parkinen was not guilty, and only ordered her to return $19,000 of the deposited amount back to the government account.

The court couldn’t believe what they were hearing, and President Parkinen was even overheard asking the judge in a whisper, “You mean … (gulp) … I’m not in trouble?”

Justice Campbell announces verdict.

This was the last event in the Civic Mirror workshop, the points were calculated, hidden agendas were scored, and the winner was … would you believe … the student teacher, Hayley Henry!

Civic Mirror Winner ~ Hayley Henry!

All in all, the Civic Mirror Workshop was a huge success! So much so that the four teachers from Alderwood Middle School had “Lake Chelan” sweatshirts made the afternoon before the evening court date.

Alderwood Middle School Teachers, from the Edmonds School District, Showing Off their "Lake Chelan" Sweatshirts

From left to right: Hayley Henry, Marnie Parkinen, Sarah Connor, and Bonnie Vijarro.

And check it out! They even had their Civic Mirror roles printed on the back!

Rear-View of the Alderwood Middle School Teachers Civic Mirror Sweatshirts

And here’s Regan Ross, workshop facilitator and creator of The Civic Mirror, posing with the Alderwood gang!

Regan Ross, creator of The Civic Mirror, with the Alderwood Middle School Crew

STAY TUNED Washington state social studies teachers: there are plans a-brewing to arrange a series of Civic Mirror workshops that will train teachers how to develop unit plans and course outlines with the program so that their students can experientialy prepare for the social studies CBA’s.

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Tagged CBAs, Civic Mirror Workshop, National Court, Washington State | Comments Off

Citizenship Simulation Kicks the Washington State Social Studies Retreat Up a Notch! (part 1 of 2)

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Civic Mirror

A new Civic Mirror country came and went in the form of a weekend-long game/workshop for teachers at the 2009 Lake Chelan Leadership Retreat (hosted by the Washington State Council for the Social Studies), and was it ever lively!

Beautiful Lake Chelan, WA ~ 2009 WSCSS Leadership Retreat

The simulated country was called “Chelan 2009” and – on the first morning of the retreat – these Washington state teachers were given political and/or economic Hidden Agendas before their country’s election (click here for more info). Below we see participants discussing tax, economic, environmental, and humanitarian issues in an effort to win votes in the upcoming elections … knowing that certain policies would score them points while others wouldn’t. Discovering what the other participants wanted their government to do proved to be a tricky challenge.

Election Campaigns and Discussions

Election campaigns and discussions

The elections found Ms. Sarah Connor, Mr. Mike Pete, and Ms. Colleen Currey winning the three congressional seats, and Ms. Marnie Parkinen winning an amazingly close presidential race … so close that two votes resulted in ties and the newly elected Congress was asked to decide – by dinner time – who should become president. They chose Parkinen. Some screamed of conspiracy.

The Hex Auction (i.e. property auction) took place in the banquet hall on the first night of the conference and President Parkinen – the richest citizen in Chelan 2009 – purchased massive amounts of property for herself and for the government. This upset several citizens. And during the trading season the next day, President Parkinen’s straight-up leadership style and business-friendly political policies angered even more.

President Accused of Embezzlement and Corruption!

Alas, Ms. Bonnie Vijarro, a hard-working citizen, had had enough of President Parkinen’s shenanigans and accused her of embezzlement and political corruption. In the final Civic Mirror event of the weekend, she was taken to National Court . Below we see Mr. David Campbell (Justice Campbell) calling court to order and asking for the charge and the plea.

Justice Campbell Announces Court

Here citizen Vijarro, leading prosecutor, makes her case, outlining how President Parkinen abused her political powers and embezzled over $22,000 into her account – 22% of the cash in the economy!!!

Citizen Vijarro Argues her Case Against President Parkinen

President Parkinen – looking rather contrite – explains that she has a right to be compensated for her services as President, siting Article 2, Section 7 of their constitution (which is a “CivicMirrorized” version of the U.S. Constitution). She denied, however, that she illegally transferred $22,000 of government money into her account.

President Parkinen Pleads her Case to Justice Campbell

This caused a ruckus in court, and President Parkinen’s attorney, Hayley Henry (a top-notch student teacher at Alderwood Middle School) pulled out a pocket-book constitution to back her client’s case, arguing that their constitution does not state minimums or maximums for Presidential compensation.

President Parkinen's Attorney, Ms. ???, Sites Relevant Clauses from her Pocket-Book Constitution.

Attorney Hayley Henry

Citizens of Chelan 2009 listen to both sides of the case, waiting for Justice Campbell to make a decision.

Attendants Listen Intently to the Court Proceedings

And Justice Campbell showed that he was no constitutional fool either – siting Article 1, Section 6, Clause 1 and Section 9, Clause 7 – and concluding that Congress, keepers of the Treasury, must first determine what “appropriate compensation for services rendered” is before President Parkinen’s guilt or innocence can be determined.

Justice Campbell Calls on Congress to Make Historic Decision

STAY TUNED for Part II to find out what the Congress of Chelan 2009 decides and whether or not President Parkinen is found guilty or innocent.

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Tagged Civic Mirror Workshop, political corruption, rights & freedoms, Washington State | Comments Off

Civic Mirror at the 2009 Encompass Conference

Posted on April 11, 2009 by Civic Mirror

Join Regan Ross at the 2009 Encompass Conference as he leads teachers through a hands-on Civic Mirror workshop, giving them a chance to learn how to use this innovative program in their own classrooms by playing it. Ideal for social studies teachers looking for new and exciting ways to bring subjects like law, government, economics, citizenship, and life preparation to life.

Location ~ Heritage Woods Secondary School
1300 David Avenue, Port Moody, BC, V3H 5K6.

Civic Mirror Workshop Time is 9:00am to 12:00pm

Conference Information here.

Map of Encompass Conference Location

View Larger Map

Posted in CM News | Tagged Civic Mirror Workshop, conference, News | Comments Off

News from TropiCanada (Part 4 of 4)

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Civic Mirror

Action-Ed is showcasing TropiCanada, a country made up of Grade 11 social studies students from Fleetwood Park Secondary School, in Surrey, BC. If you would like to showcase your Civic Mirror Nation, email us your story. info@action-ed.com

SAD NEWS IN TROPICANADA
We begin our final post on TropiCanada with sad news: 13 citizens passed away at the end of the second simulated year, including Sukhi’s cousin Danny and Tricia’s son Rainbow … both due to homelessness. Sukhi – stricken with rage and grief – is already preparing another case against “Daniel the Landlord” for the upcoming year.

Many deaths in TropiCanada in the year 2001.

Note: You will have to ask Tricia if her son Rainbow struggled with his name at school. 🙂

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Government of TropiCanada, however, was able to address the nation’s energy crisis by developing another Energy/Industry (E/I) hex (see red arrow in picture below). Many citizens are excited as the added E/I units will help TropiCanada develop its economy. More E/I units means more opportunities to improve the health care, education, and housing shortages that are hampering the well-being of many TropiCanadian families.

Economic development of this kind won’t please everyone. For example, Brennan and his family saw the beautiful forest they lived beside suddenly turn into a polluting E/I factory (see picture below).

New Energy/Industry Hex; house-owner Brennan

Not only will this worsen the quality of TropiCanada’s environment, but it will directly decrease the quality of Brennan’s neighborhood. Whether he seeks compensation in court for this development remains to be seen. One thing is for certain, however: How TropiCanada develops its economy in the coming years will be rich with controversy.

GOVERNMENT OF TROPICANADA’S LEGISLATIVE TRACK RECORD
Before we reveal the results of TropiCanada’s 2002 election, we’ll show you some of the noteworthy legislation from the first government’s term in office:

War Measures Act ~ “In times of violence or rebellion, government has full power to intervene until problem has been solved if the majority of people vote yes.”
House vote of 3-3, Speaker voted in favor of bill, 4-3 passed

Hex Ownership Law ~ “No individual can own more than 5 hexes including government.”
House vote of 2-4, rejected.

War Measures Act amendment ~ “Starting now the poeple do not need to vote for the government to intervene with the problems. But the government has to make an announcement prior to the intervention.”
4-2 passed.

Hoarding Act ~ People are not allowed to hoard food. One family per food unit.
6-0 passed unanimously.

Caps Law ~ “Maximum cost of food per year is $500. Maximum shelter costs are: a) Apartment rent, $500, b) House rent, $750, c) Mansion rent, $1,000.”
6-0 passed

2002 ELECTIONS
Winds of change swept TropiCanada’s political landscape. For starters, one of the previous two political parties dissolved and a new one – The Danger Rangers – replaced it, running against The People’s Party for control over the country’s House of Commons. Both parties put forth similar platforms, calling for change, equality rights, and a better effort by the government to listen to the people’s concerns. In fact, both parties accused one another of stealing their political and economic ideas. Below we see the results of the 2002 election:

Voting results for TropiCanada’s”For The People” party.

Voting results for TropiCanada’s newly-formed “Danger Rangers” party.

Although difficult to tell from the pictures above, The People’s Party won the 2002 elections, winning a majority of seats in the House of Commons. The citizens called for change and change they got. Only two of the previous seven politicians were re-elected, and five new citizens will be taking hold of the reigns of political power. What mandate will they bring? What changes will they really make?

END NOTES
This ends our Four-Part series on TropiCanada. We hope you learned lots about The Civic Mirror, how it enlivens the study of government, economics, law, and citizenship, and – most of all – enjoyed reading it too!

Citizens of TropiCanada … send us updates when you begin your next simulated year, and email them to info@action-ed.com.

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Tagged BC, Country News, elections, End of Year Calculations, eviction, family deaths, Legislation, National Court, rights & freedoms | Comments Off

News from TropiCanada (Part 3 of 4)

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Civic Mirror

SUKHI & TRICIA VS. “DANIEL the LANDLORD”
The tensions were high leading up to this case with everything at stake. As was explained in our first TropiCanada post, “Daniel the Landlord” was charged with illegal and discriminatory rental policies for kicking out – without notice – two of his tenants: Sukhi and Tricia. The national sentiments were split. The poorer citizens were hoping for a guilty verdict, hoping the courts would send a message to all the affluent TropiCanadians that human rights and freedoms must be respected. And the more affluent citizens were hoping “Daniel the Landlord” would be found innocent, sending a message that business owners could conduct their business privately, without government or judicial meddling. Everything depended on the random jury selection. The room was silent as the three jurors were selected (shown below).

Court Marshall selecting jurors for TropiCanada’s second trial.

Here we see the prosecuting team, Sukhi (left) and Tricia (right), who were evicted from “Landlord Daniel’s” apartment without notice. Sukhi argued that not only was this act a violation of his constitutional rights, but it was a crime against society because no tenants should have to worry about being thrown out on the streets without notice.

Prosecuting Team

This is “Daniel the Landlord,” the defendant. In his opening speech to the jury he reframed the issue, saying that his rights as a landlord to conduct business as he wishes were being infringed upon in this case. “It’s my business who I rent my apartment to,” he explained.

Defendant ~ Apartment Landlord Daniel P.

As the case progressed, the court was getting rather rowdy with some of the arguments being made, and Judge Cory had to threaten certain persons with contempt of court charges. Here we see him issuing the threat after smacking his gavel several times.

Judge Cory threatens contempt of court charges while court marshall looks on.

“Daniel the Landlord” had a last minute surprise for the prosecution by hiring a smooth-talking attorney (to the right). Here we see a picture of some court room action.

Picture of the court room drama unfolding. Note that “Landlord Daniel” is now being represented by his attorney.

The jury deliberated on this case for almost 10 minutes. They understood very well what was at stake. In the end they found the defendant innocent on all charges. Below we see them explaining their reasoning to the court and their belief that “Daniel the Landlord” had the right – as a private business person – to make his own business decisions.

Jurors read and explain verdict.

With Sukhi’s long list of constitutional violations and the odds stacked against him, neither “Daniel the Landlord” or his attorney expected to win the case. Here we see them celebrating after hearing the verdict of “Innocent.”

Jubilant defendant celebrates with his attorney after verdict of innocent is announced.

Jubilant defendant celebrates with his attorney after innocent verdict is announced.

NEXT POST
Shortly after this trial, the TropiCanada’s teacher ended the second simulated year. Find out in our next post how many citizens incurred family deaths, whether or not Sukhi & Tricia were able to find shelter for their families, and what happened in the nation’s second election.

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Tagged BC, Country News, eviction, National Court, rights & freedoms | Comments Off

News from TropiCanada (Part 2 of 4)

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Civic Mirror

Hamed et. al. vs. The Government of TropiCanada
As was mentioned in our first post on TropiCanada, a class action law suit was launched against the Government of TropiCanada, led by an impoverished citizen named Hamed. Here we see Judge Cory overseeing the random selection of jurors for the upcoming case.

Jurors being picked by Court Marshall

The prosecution was led by Hamed (left) and his legal partner, Sukhi (right). They are representing themselves plus five other TropiCanadian citizens who are homeless in the year 2001, and are suing their government for having unconstitutional social programs (note: TropiCanada is using CM’s Canadian Module, so they sited three sections from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to support their case).

Prosecuting Team ~ Hamed & Sukhi

Below we see the defendants, the Prime Minister of TropiCanada and another MP. After hearing the prosecution’s opening, they chose to plead guilty to all charges, lessening the punishment by signifiying a willingness to cooperate with the courts.

Governing Members of TropiCanada being Tried.

Governing Members of TropiCanada being Sued.

Below we see Hamed presenting his case, explaining that The Government of TropiCanada has $23,000 in a $100,000 economy and they’re not using any of it to help the 7 families who are homeless and helpless. Hamed explains a list of homeless citizens to the judge and requests that the government give each family $2,000 to rectify their unconstitutional policies ($14,000 of the governments $23,000).
– government pled guilty much to everyone’s surprise

Hamed arguing for the prosecuting team.

After deliberating in the hallway for some time, Judge Cory returned to the court room and explains his decision for The Government of TropiCanada to give each of the seven families $1,400 of financial assistance. He noted that the government’s cooperation in pleading guilty led to the lower amount. Below we see Hamed and Sukhi with the thumbs up.

Hamed & Sukhi after winning $1,400 for each of the homeless citizens of TropiCanada!

COMING NEXT POST
In a second case, Suki and Tricia sue “Landlord Daniel” for illegally evicting them from his apartment. If Sukhi and Tricia win, they ensure their families stay alive. If they lose, one member of each of their families will likely die … unless something drastic happens.

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Tagged BC, Country News, eviction, National Court, rights & freedoms, welfare | Comments Off

News from TropiCanada (Part 1 of 4)

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Civic Mirror

TropiCanada’s Town Hall
We begin our showcase of TropiCanada in its second simulated year (2001) and we find ourselves in a nation with massive gaps between the haves and have nots, with both groups of citizens believing they are in the right.

In a recent Town Hall meeting the issue of price controls was hotly contested. Earlier in 2001, TropiCanada’s Prime Minister passed legislation which put a price ceiling on apartment rent in an effort to help the poor and needy families of TropiCanada find shelter. The three apartment landlords, however, expressed their frustration with the law questioning why the government placed low ceilings on rent, but not food. The landlords explained that their profit margins were being jeopardized due to the high price of Energy/Industry units (the units needed to power hexes). “Why us?” they demanded.

Here we see one landlord’s apartment on the left (Daniel’s). His $300 asking price for rent is the maximum allowed by the Government of TropiCanada.

Yet, with equal fury, several homeless and penniless TropiCanadians asked their government the same question: “Why us?” Five citizens were homeless, about the same number had ZERO dollars, and one struggling citizen asked her government, “Look! There’s $100,000 in our economy and our government has almost $24,000. Don’t you think our government should start using that money to help out struggling citizens?” Although TropiCanada’s government members listened and explained their plans, tensions remained high at the end of the Town Hall meeting.

Open Market
One of the apartment landlords, Daniel (whose apartment is shown in the image above), had had enough of the government regulations and decided to evict two families – Sukhi’s and Tricia’s. Both Sukhi and Tricia had paid Daniel rent, both had been invited by Daniel to occupy his apartment, and both were kicked out without notice. Daniel claimed he needed to find tenants who could pay the maximum of $300 for rent in order to make a living. Sukhi and Tricia protested that they were victims of discrimination.

Daniel shakes his head fiercely when asked if his decision to evict two tenants without notice was discriminatory.

Another interesting development was that of TropiCanada’s first lottery. Created by a self-starting entrepreneur named Jordan, she posted this pay-per-view forum topic in her country’s discussion forum. Although this is a pretty standard Civic Mirror initiative, it’s a good one nonetheless.

Citizen Sukhi (who you’ll learn more about in future posts) pulled off a Civic Mirror first! He advertised his services as a hex agent (i.e. real estate agent). Brilliant! Check out his advertisement out in TropiCanada’s forums.

LAW SUITS and END NOTES:
The school bell ended TropiCanada’s action-packed Open Market. One civil suit was announced against the Government by Hamed and Sukhi (next post), and a criminal accusation was announced against “Daniel the Landlord” by Sukhi and Tricia (the two citizens whose families were evicted without notice, coming in the third post). TropiCanada’s politicians were quietly jockeying for points in the upcoming election, being careful to distance themselves from those being taken to court.

Read the next posts to find out what happens!

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Tagged BC, Country News, eviction, initiative, Open Market, rights & freedoms, Town Hall, welfare | Comments Off

Welcome New Countries!

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Civic Mirror

We would like to welcome the following countries new to Civic Mirror World!

DISTURBIA
This country is made up of students from an “Intro to Political Science” course at Providence College in Rhode Island. Disturbia used the CM Wikis arguably more than any other nation in their first term elections. Here’s an excerpt of two candidates’ proposed platform who are running for President and Vice-President:

Danielle & Jared’s “Security, health care, and education are vital to the survival and well-being of every citizen of Disturbia. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that these services are accessible to every man and woman, independent of their socioeconomic status. As President and Vice President, our primary concerns are to uphold justice democratically, represent the ideas of every citizen, and build a strong, fruitful nation. If you elect us as your leaders, we will be certain to establish the foundation for a transparent, effective, and affluent democratic state.”

GREENTEAOPIA
This country comes from a Grade 10 Civics class at The Woodlands School in Mississauga, Ontario. You can tell interesting things are going to come out of this nation’s trenches as their customized National Wiki Page already looks this good:

Greenteaopia CM Wiki Front Page

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Comments Off

Pangea Citizen Seeks to Legislate Respect

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Civic Mirror

It’s no secret that The Civic Mirror can bring out the best and worst in its participants. The game was given its name for that very reason: It provides participants with an experiential mirror by leaving them to their own devices, a mirror from which they can stop and reflect on their individual and collective thoughts, words, and actions in their simulated country and ask questions like:

“Do I like what I am doing here?”
“Am I proud to be a member of this nation?”
“Are the kinds of things I’m saying and doing going to bring me success in the real world?”

But here we have an unique case of student foresight and positivity. His name is Max, his country is the newly created Pangea (from Shanghai American School), and he’s countering his fellow-citizens’ predictions that their country is going to be a cut-throat nation by proposing a moral amendment to their country’s constitution. Check it out.

Max from Pangea writes:

“Christine, Cherise, Kevin (just to name the first three commentators) all predicted a dispute over resources between the rich and the poor, an example of which can be seen in the quote above;

‘The poor will suffer and possibly die, while the rich will be more likely to dominate the hexes.’

Here I would like to advocate what I would regard as a very real, valid solution to the grim outlook of ‘predictable’ selfishness so many forsee in the near future of yet-to-be-running Pangea.

Continue reading →

Posted in From the CM Trenches | Tagged constitutional amendements, Country News, International Students, Legislation, rights & freedoms | Comments Off

President Accused of Embezzlement and Corruption!

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