Leaflanders, a civic mirror country from the Learning By Design High School in Haysville, KS, are starting out on a journey that will teach them about government, civics and themselves. Instructor Angela Quiram posted the following questions for her students as perparation for this journey and the decisions they will have to face along the way:
“a) three issues our country may face (and WHY they might be issues)
b) a possible solution for those issues
c) whether or not you will run for public office/which one(s)/why or why not… “
In order to respond to these questions, Leaflanders drew on past experiences in both the practice round and real life events with their fellow citizens. LaurenW. begins with a dark view of her beloved Leafland,
“Three issues our country may face are famine because everyone seems to be greedy (no offense), economic issues because we will be spending all of our money on stuff to be greedy about, and a lot of death due to the famine. A solution to these issues are to control the amount of units that are being sold. And I do plan on running for public office not because I have to, but because I think I have good ideas that could really help us.”
Misty has an equally bleak view of the future,
“I think the issues we might face will be running out of food/electricity, money, and/or lower prices. Because there is not enough electricity for everyone. So, my solution is to make another power plant to make sure everyone does not hog all the food and lower prices because people do not have money.
I plan to run as either the president or the judge because I will prepare before I take action. Honestly I do not want to serve in any office because it is too much of a hassle.”
BlakeB., however, has an equally opposite view of what the future will hold for Leafland,
“Our country wil
l face no problems at all we are the most honest and smallest country ever. We are good people, with no issues what so ever.”
While DonovanT. seems to have the hidden agendas in mind as he contemplates the future,
“If there were 3 issues the Republic of Leafland might suffer from, I think the first one would be about someone taking over in the government and not being fair. Another issue would probably be everyone not doing it right and lots of families dying. The last issue would probably be high prices for everything and no one would be able afford them. A possible solution would be for everyone to try there best and not let our country die. I probably will not run for any office things because I do not know much about that stuff. “
BrookeM. cannot help thinking of her own time as an American citizen,
“-A few issues that our country may face is that many people may die due to the lack of food and energy supply. Also money could be an issue just because some of us don’t have very much.
-So a possible solution may be taking out a tree and replacing it with either another farm or power plant. Also the government controlling how much a person may get would also help.
-I would rather just be a normal American citizen because being in charge of something big is not really my thing. I’m just going to sit back and keep my family alive!”
RachelR is hopeful that the country will have a positive future,
“three issues, hmmmm…………disagreement on laws and ownership or placement of hexes, everyone putting in effort and having full understanding of the civic mirror game, and just keeping our families healthy and sticking to our hidden agendas. I know if we all work together our country could really be something. I am not sure if I will run for anything in office. I am still debating it but if I do I promise to try and be a positive influence. p.s. Blake i love your awesome attitude about our country!
While Kathleen understands how difficult it can be to raise a family in modern Leafland,
“Some of the issues our country might face is that everyone won’t have the things they need to keep their family alive. I see that as the biggest issue. One way to maybe keep that from happening is to make sure everyone has what they need before the other people of our country go building things and using up energy. I was thinking about running for president, it looks like fun and I already think there are some changes that need to be made.”
These concerns are all realistic and important. However, in the heat of the moment it is easy to forget these concerns, especially when a citizen has a lot to gain! Choose your politicians wisely Leaflanders, and pay close attention to the decisions made by citizens and politicians alike, the survival of your country and families may depend on it!
