The Game of Village

Busy Bees

We've gotten to the point in Village where no one really walks anywhere -- everyone has someplace to go and is in a hurry to get there.  There's a sense of urgency in the air, a sense of importance.

Peep University has started and peeps have taken a variety of courses:  fitness, branding your business, window construction, needle felting, shingling, personal finance (a required course for those who have overdrawn their accounts), 7 turn labyrinths, landscaping, lawn ornaments, peep survival, and bed making.  Several students have taken the initiative to write detailed lesson plans and become adjunct faculty.  It's fun to hear the students trying out new ideas and language, "Wait, I forgot my transcript."  "How many credits do you need for a masters?"  "Which one gets you the puffy hat again?"  I fear that some of the interest in higher education may be the costuming one gets to have at mini-fair's graduation.

 

A wide variety of houses are starting to dot the land.  It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to build one's house -- things never go exactly as planned.  This year's villagers are especially excited by interior design.  Houses I've seen include rock walls, ferret beds, tile floors, original art work, wardrobes with tiny little hangers, sky lights, slides, and giant ants.  Landscaping has also been popular and several pieces of land sport rock gardens, party lights, prayer flags and as of today, labyrinths.  They are some of the most well developed properties I've seen in a long time and will be a lot of fun to appraise.

 

Businesses are also taking off.  We've limited commerce to land time this year to encourage the development of transportation systems (all goods must move across the land by peep power at peep speed.)  Yesterday, we had four brownie vendors and they learned a quick lesson about the importance of having a unique product -- one child in particular had to slash her prices compared to the day before when she'd been one of two food sellers.  Ah, supply and demand.  Other children are trying to defend their market share by branding -- using what he learned in a Peep U. class, one child called his rice crispy bars "Joy Bars."  Another child is selling cheese from his Casa de Queso whose motto is "Mi Queso es Su Queso."  He's building a cheese shaped house which I think he has plans to make into a tourist attraction ala the Corn Palace.  He's also written a book which was published today, "6 Cheesy Jokes for Peeps."  Look for it at mini-fair.  Other businesses include a pizzeria, several bakeries, Harry Potter paraphernalia (including tiny quiditch brooms!), house wares, smoothies, homemade soda, Mini-foot long hot dogs (pigs in a blanket), portraits, a delivery business, zip line rides, a ropes course, a fitness club, and a car manufacturer.

Personal lives are busy, too.  R.D. seems to be officiating at quite a few weddings (he was the priest in the Robin's Twelfth Night which is evidently the extent of his credential.)  One frazzled bride stormed into the room with a length of white lace declaring, "Weddings are so stressful!"  All of these marriages are strictly religious unions since there are no laws regarding marriage.

And government?  Well, everyone is pretty busy -- too busy to get into the conflicts that generally lead to laws.  I did have one child state he was going to sue another over a property violation.  I asked what law he had broken (there weren't any laws regarding property) and then I asked how he was going to "sue" (there is no judicial system).  He laughed -- as a fifth grader he realized there was a lot of work to do if he wanted retribution.  He decided it wasn't worth it.  As we begin to ramp up for mini-fairs we may find that the towns have more proposals on which to decide.  -MMM

The (Not So) Hidden Curriculum

Math and financial literacy are huge factors in a student's Village life.  They figure into almost everything they do and, because within the context of the game their mistakes have an impact on their success, they take great care with their work and learn the information deeply.  Here is an overview of some of the math students do:

Banking - students learn about collateral, loans, and interest.  They learn how checking accounts work and how to correctly write a check (we charge fees for incorrect checks).  They learn that having an unlimited number of checks does not mean you have an unlimited amount of money!  They learn how to balance a check book and submit a check for payment

Work Life - Students who wish to work for the federal government fill out an employment application which asks them to share their previous work experience and the skills that will contribute to their success for this job.  They keep track of the hours they work and learn how to write an invoice to be paid for services rendered.  They also sign up for shifts and, if they don't show up for work, can be fired.

Business - Students who wish to start their own business often fill out a business plan that helps them identify the benefit of the product they are selling and encourages them to brand their product in a way that highlights that benefit.  They also figure out the costs of the raw materials for their product and calculate the cost of the labor involved.  In cases where students build buildings or have other capital expenses, they figure out their overhead.  Then, using these figures, they determine what kind of profit they want to make and what they should charge for their product.  (As an aside, we've learned that developmentally, many children this age consider the money they are given by a customer to be 100% profit.  They don't yet independently think about the cost of the materials they are using.)

Macroeconomics - When villages make decisions about money, it has an impact on how much their currency can buy in the store.  The initial value of the currency is determined by the amount of land each village grants an individual.  We price things so that a medium size house costs about 1/3 of the value of an individual's land.  If a town opts to give themselves lots of land, there is more money in circulation so it can buy less.  That means that with two villages, there can be two different exchange rates!  It is amazing how quickly students grasp this fact when they face it on the store price list.  If a town decides to "give" its citizens extra money, the prices in the store rise accordingly (governments can't make money to quell the populace...although they sometimes try.)

 If their is counterfeiting of money the store raises its prices until actions are taken to make the currency secure.  Similarly, if theft becomes a problem in the store, prices are raised to cover the losses.  Lessons about supply and demand also abound.  So often, students will say something like, "My peep's going to be a veterinarian!" But then nobody has pets and, if they do, the pets don't get sick.  They quickly learn that they can't charge money for services people don't need.

Finally, the federal government encourages locally made products by imposing very large tariffs (some would say draconian tariffs) on goods that are made by people who are not a part of Village.  For example, candy products created in a human factory currently have over a 500% tariff on them.  However, raw materials that are fashioned into products by Villagers can come through customs at the cost those materials have (or would have) in the federal store.

Area and Spacial Math - students design their houses in 1/24 scale.  They must figure out the area of the wood they need.  For some, this is a simple calculation of the area of 6 rectangles.  Other students choose peaked roofs and work with triangles as well, often using the Pythagorean theorem to determine the triangle's height.  They mark their wood on pieces of plywood using T-squares and trying to lay out their pieces so that the minimum number of saw cuts are required (although we don't charge by the cut.)  Finally they assemble their houses and decorate them again using a lot of spacial problem solving and budgeting as they figure out what kind of decor they can afford.

Whew!

So Much To Report!

Sorry that I've not been reporting news from the Villages.  It's been a very, very busy time for personal peep business but not as busy on the civic front.  The store is open, wood has been purchased, hammering is happening and we are beginning to see some habitable houses.  More on all of this work in the next post.

For now, a political update:

Peepopolis - Has elected a president, S.W., to run meetings.  He won after making a speech about his desire to bring public art to the village.  (This campaign promise has not yet been fufilled.)  The president uses parliamentary procedure and direct democracy to help the town make decisions.  The villagers can still opt out of a day's meeting and lose their vote for the day.  Peepopolis decided to use the same currency as Northtopia.  Initially they were just going to have the same name for the currency but now they are using the same physical currency.  Of course, now if one village makes imprudent financial decisions that affect the value of the op, it will have an impact on the other village, too.  Hmmm...sound familiar?  When I mentioned this to a group in Northtopia they asked, "Does Peepopolis have a law about counterfeiting?" (The village lore about counterfeiting causing inflation in the federal store is well known.)  Then, after a pause another question, "Hey, do we have a law against counterfeiting?!"

Northtopia - One of my favorite quotes of the week was a resonse to the new governmnet in Northtopia, an oligarcy, "Yeah, we voted for other kids to do all the boring parts.  I don't really know all the details but I like it."  A group of four fifth graders has been given complete control of decisions in Northtopia.  They meet in committee to consider written proposals from the populace.  The majority of proposals fail because of associated cost (these oligarchs are very frugal...so far) or a lack of clarity.  Proposals that have passed include a patent system so that peeps can protect their ideas.  Peeps who infringe on patents will be fined $500 ops.  They also voted for a volunteer to design and make the money to be used by the town.  He initially wanted to be paid but they kept rejecting his proposal until he offered to do it for free.  Will the populace continue to support the oligarchy if they continue to deny so many proposals?  Will the oligarchs realize they could build an opulent palace for themselves on the town's dime?  (The town is very, very rich compared to previous years.)  Only time will tell.  -- MMM

Big Help

Today Troy Cohrs brought out his senior classes from Northfield Highschool to help with Village.  It was a fantastic day.  We were able to pair up one or two Prairie Creek kids with each of the highschoolers (who were quickly claimed as "my highschooler").  With so much one on one help, everyone made a lot of progress.  

Almost all of the wood is cut and lots of kids are painting and wall papering.  We even have our first house on the land.  A group volunteered to design cash which the bank was "selling" today.  Having cash speeds up the commerce of village a lot since one no longer has to write checks (of course, if you lose your cash...or spend it all on brownies...)

But the visit was about a lot more than village help.  At recess the highschoolers played capture the flag and kickball with our students and then they ate lunch together.  For many of our students, this attention from an older student is a memory they will have for a long time.  It also is another opportunity for them to see service modeled by older students -- cementing the idea that service is a meaningful way for them to spend time when they are in highschool.

While the seniors were waiting for their bus to arrive, they had a very Prairie Creek moment -- they decided to organize a human size chess game and quickly split into teams, holding their hands up in caps to be bishops and riding pretend horses to be knights.

All Hail the Oligarchs

Northtopia voted itself a new government today: an oligarchy. The students making the proposal were very clear and consistent with their use of that term, and they refer to themselves as oligarchs. Yet there were no questions from villagers about what the terms mean. There were other questions, including "What's in it for you?", but in general, the village seemed relatively eager to turn over all power to four self-selected villagers in exchange for "not having to sit through all those boring meetings". The oligarchs did offer some methods of participation in the government: villagers may submit proposals for laws, upon which the oligarchs will vote. (No word on what happens in the event of a tie.) The oligarchs will call a village meeting each Friday to announce which proposals passed and which did not. There are no provisions in the law for villagers to overturn any decisions that they don't like. Will the oligarchs rule with the best interests of the village at heart? We shall have to wait and see.

A Glimpse at Peep Intros

Quite a few peeps were ready to introduce themselves today.  In the video below you'll a random collection of clips from the introductions so that you can get a sense of what they're like.  Students write an introductory paragraph in the peep's voice and then the peep answers questions from the village.  It's always fun to watch the peep personalities emerge.  Once students have introduced their peeps, the peeps have voting rights...but they also have to live on the land.  Initially, peeps have only the most primitive shelters (thank goodness for burdock leaves).  The vulnerability of their peeps (squirrels find Sculpey clay heads very tasty) is a great impetus to get one's house built.

 

Other news:  Peepopolis has voted to allow students to leave meetings when they wish.  Once you have left the day's meeting, you may not return.  We'll see how that works out.  Sometimes government by apathy proceeds peacefully -- more often, some enterprising peep will realize that all it takes is a little stick-to-it-ivity and you can wreak havoc. -MMM

Update from Northtopia

The north village is now called Northtopia, and the Northtopians have had their land rush. They voted to allot each peep 1 square human yard of land. Today, we had a proposal for a new government: an oligarchy to be run by 5 villagers. The proposal was voted down, but I understand the group is working on improvements to the proposal and will try again tomorrow. We also voted to create a currency. It will be named "Ops" (the same as the currency of Peepopolis; will this cause confusion?) and it will be created by DG and RD.

We Know You've Been Waiting

We left you with a cliff hanger last night:  what would happen when the south village had their land rush without adequately planning?  Well, nothing much happened.  The land rush went very smoothly with no conflicts.  Students hopped onto the land and spaced themselves out.  A few kids noted that they should bring out some yard sticks to do careful measurements when they went to mark the edges of their land more permanently.

I was reminded of a story about a Village years ago (not one I was in).  The federal government was trying to teach the students about homelessness.  They introduced a family of homeless peeps, expecting a debate to ensue about whether or not the town should help them with town funds.  Instead, students just offered the family places to stay and many offered them some of their money.  In the eyes of the children, homelessness had a simple solution -- you offer the family a home.

Cia Iselin, the woman who started Village 40 years ago, wouldn't be surprised.  She wanted children to create a new world, one she felt would be better than the one that had been created for them.  She felt strongly that Village was not a re-creation of the known world but an opportunity to do things differently.

The south village land rush is an example of this.  Because there was no stress on resources (the private land is just 3/8 of the town) students were all able to find suitable land without conflict.  Boundaries are not as important because no one feels crowded.  The citizens of the south village (now called Peepopolis thanks to a proposal today) briefly played with the idea of granting themselves more land but felt that one yard was adequate for their personal needs.  What a concept.

Other news:  Several peeps were introduced to their villages today.  They now are full voting members.  The north village had another debate about optional meetings.  Many students wanted to let decisions be made by whomever wanted to go to meetings.  Others felt that everyone should take a turn either by gentle social pressure (spirit of the game) or threat of punishment (fine).  In the end, enough students weren't happy with the proposal that it didn't pass.  Nor did a proposal to make the town pay for all weddings.  They did, however, agree that there will be a land rush and that everyone will receive 1 square yard of land.  They did not, however, agree on a time for the land rush.  That was on the docket when the student with the floor moved to adjourn.  The majority agreed, much to the consternation of students who realized that land rush couldn't happen until more laws were passed.  

The tension between one's personal needs (getting a peep finished) and the town's needs (settling land division so that everyone can take out a loan) is huge.  One frustrated child couldn't believe he was still in meeting when he was "falling behind" on his work.  Others couldn't believe that anyone could suggest adjournment when there was so much business left to attend to.  We purposefully set up this tension by using direct democracy.  Students are already realizing that it doesn't make sense for everyone to have a say in everything.  There must be a way to run a town efficiently so that one can get one's own work done too.  Thus, the needs of the citizenry lead to the organic development of a government.  A great conversation in the days to come would be about the pros and cons of various types of government.  You can even help your child draft a proposal.    -MMM

 

 

Details, details, details

We began the day with the land agreement.  Like the pioneers of the late 1800s, our citizens are offered a piece of land in exchange for settlement (and a scale map).  The citizens of each land carefully read the contract (great opportunity for us to stress the importance of reading and understanding anything you sign) and then signed the agreement which grants the town land.  The agreement stipulates that the land must be returned to the school in "pristine condition."  One village wanted to clear weeds and had to seek clarification from Simon that weeding would be O.K.  It was.  That opened another can of worms as one citizen asked what would happen if someone wanted to keep his weeds...

The land grant purposefully parallels the land rush of the American West in the late 1800s.  Then, the U.S. government granted land to anyone who agreed to settle it, in large part to control the land without the use of military resources.  Our land, unlike the Western territories, is truly uninhabited so our land rush is less controversial.

As soon as the Land Agreement is signed, the citizens settle into their first town meetings.  Currently Amy and Cathy are the moderators for the South and North villages respectively.  We begin with a direct democracy in which every citizen votes on every proposal.  The meetings are run with a modified Roberts Rules of Order.  When Village begins, there are no laws.  There is no agenda.  Laws evolve organically in response to the needs of the community.

Of course "needs" are relative.  The first proposal of the North village was that meetings be optional (did not pass after someone pointed out that dangers of someone just staying and making ridiculous rules after everyone left.)  This was quickly followed by a proposal to build a large ornamental gate that would include two guard towers.  The builders would receive $2000 each.  Voted down.  A third proposal involved having the fifth graders bring in their currency from last year's village.  This would be made legal tender and it would be used to purchase the south village.  While intriguing, this proposal was also voted down.  The group ended by voting that there would be a group of people paid to take out weeds from the village.

The South Village had a different set of priorities.  The first proposal was that there be a land rush with all citizens lining up along the 60 foot side of the land.  This was amended to include that the land rush could not occur until it was decided how much land everyone would receive.  This proposal passed.  But, instead of being followed by a proposal about land amounts, the next several proposals had to do with carnival ride safety.  Finally, the south village voted that each peep would receive a square human yard of land and that the Land Rush would be held as soon as possible.

You may have thought the title of this post had to do with the minute detail with which I seem to be reporting the goings on of the Villages.  In fact, it represents one of the key pieces of learning that students of Village come away with.  One must be very clear in one's communication in order to implement one's ideas effectively.  For example:

The straightforward weed proposal of the North village turned out to have a lot of bits and pieces that weren't figured out.  How much would weed pullers get paid?  How would people sign up?  What if someone didn't want their weeds pulled?  What, exactly, would be considered a weed.  Would public and private land be subjected to weed pulling?  Not all of these questions were answered during the discussion of the proposal.  Still, it passed.  Now it is law.  The town has committed to it but things like a pay rate were not determined.  Will the weed pullers submit a reasonable invoice or will they take advantage of the town's oversight and bill them excessively? (Last year, a trio of defense contractors took advantage of a similar situation and charged the town one half of its net worth!)

And the South's land rush?  Well, it specifies that there will be a land rush and that everyone will get a square yard.  But there are no details about how the yards will be determined.  Will the land be divided into claims ahead of time?  Will people have a 4 yard perimeter string to mark their claim which they can place anywhere?  Will the fact that this key detail is missing occur to members of the south village before the whistle blows and they run out onto the land and then stand confused as they realize they don't have a plan to actually claim the land they've rushed.  Stay tuned.

 

A Whole New World

To say the excitement was palpable is an understatement.  Everything Amy, Cathy and I said seemed to be greeted by a louder cheer.  "Hello"  yay!  "Welcome to Village."  Yay!  "Today we'll be making peeps."  YAY!!

 

Michelle's peep, Gus, with a peep body.

Peeps are people to 1/24 size.  They are made from pipecleaners, yarn and polymer clay.  Some peeps have personalities very similar to their human, others argue with their human constantly.  Peeps have to obey the same laws of physics and nature that humans do.  They cannot fly, turn invisible or grow tails.

 

As the students worked on the very first steps I was reminded once again about all fo the tiny little skills students learn when using their hands.  Just to make peeps, students must tie knots, sculpt, follow a pattern, make stitches, and finally turn tiny little outfits inside out.  Later on, each child will build a house and learn to use a vise, hammer, T-square, coping saw, drill, screw driver and jig.  For some, it will be their very first time using tools.

But, back to the Village.  There are two Villages - currently named "North and South."  Each is a rectangle of land 20 human yards by 4 human yards with a 1 yard strip between them.  Their terrain is similar - a mix of field, scrub and trees.  The very first step for the villagers will be to determine how the land will be divided among them.  More land for individuals means that each individual will be able to take out a bigger loan at the bank.  More public land means there will be more shared resources such as roads, markets and parks.  The town will have more money to spend on things like education, defense, health services and entertainment (one Village had a figure head "Party King" whose job it was to throw parties for all peeps to attend.)

Time will tell.  Here's a video of the initial exploration of the land:

 

As the students split into their villages, many looked longingly across the one yard gap.  Several had made plans for businesses with students who were now in another village.  What to do?  Those students who asked me got a very brief introduction to the concept of immigration.  Currently, each child is a citizen with one vote in his or her assigned village.  When we start village, there are no laws on the books.  One of the first laws that might be proposed might be that students can move to a new village and become citizens there.  A few students who overheard the conversation saw some issues immediately -- wouldn't that mean more people to split the same amount of land?  What if the person who came just wanted to be with friends?  With more people doesn't each vote count for less?  Does the other village get to split the land among fewer people then?  Before the villages decide how to divide land, they often feel resource rich but it may become harder for them to accept immigration after property has been split.  

Finally, this blog is written by teachers (you can see that it goes back many years now.)  It is a mix of news and pedagogy, the method and the madness, if you will.  Flipping through the archives will give you a sense of how different villages can be from each other.  A second blog has been started that will be written by students.  It is tentatively and exuberantly titled, "Peeps are Awesome."  You can find it at http://prairiecreek.typepad.com/peep_news.  You can also click on it from the links on the right.