We've had our first town meetings! We begin with peep introductions. Students have been hard at work these past two days creating their peeps - they have to craft heads, sew clothes and write a first person introduction for their peep. We are always amazed by their creativity and their determination to learn what for many are new skills - especially the sewing.
After the peep introductions, students make proposals to the town. This year, proposals must be written out ahead of time. We discuss the proposals and offer friendly amendments using a modified parliamentary procedure. Students quickly learn how to navigate meetings - sometimes they learn too quickly and move to vote before a proposal can be fully fleshed out and discussed. The consequences or this alacrity can vary. Sometimes it just means that the town passes a law that says the equivalent of "We support the idea of health insurance" when they meant to provide health insurance to every peep. At other times, peeps have inadvertently emptied out the town's bank account, given up free speech or ceded their right to govern themselves. It can get exciting at town meetings!
The laws passed so far in Town 1 (Now named Towny McTownface...see Law 3):
Law 1 - A law to undo bad laws - If we pass a law and we find it is a bad law, a full town meeting can be called by a petition with half the town's signatures. The meeting will be a direct democracy meeting to repeal just the law in question. If a super majority of 2/3 of the town vote it out, it is out. Nothing can override that repeal. This law cannot be repealed.
Law 2 - A law to govern immigration (passed in Village A as well) -You and an individual in another village can trade your land and your right to vote, then move to your new village.This works through this process: 1.You and the individual in the other village both agree to switch. You must both have land and a vote in your current village. You cannot trade public land. You must trade all of your original private plot. 2.You and the individual both pay a immigration fee of 50 of the chosen currency to your current village to help the town’s economy and cover the cost of changing things. 3.You and your peep walk the entire way in peep steps 4.You have no structures. If your structure has wheels, you may move it at peep speed to the new land. The structure owner must follow any existing laws when moving the structure. If you agree to meet these prerequisites then you may immigrate
Law 3 - A change of the Village name - The town shall be named now. The moderator shall call on five people for suggestions, We will choose based on majority vote. If no majority is reached on a first vote, a run off election with the top two vote getters shall be held next. (Editor's note: Sadly, and despite my protests that this was so 2016, "Towny McTown Face" was chosen by 24 votes, the slimmest majority possible.)
Law 4 - A law to establish a land committee - There shall be a land committee. this land committee will be arranged after it is decided how much town land and private land there will be. The committee will allow anybody in this village who wants to. The committee will not be paid. The committee will make a scale map of the town to turn in to Simon. It will talk to the town's peeps and gather what land they want. We will try to listen to everyone. The town shall review and approve the map before it is submitted.
In Town A, Ryan was able to take minutes while Amber moderated the session. Reading the play by play gives a great insight on how students are thinking about the laws and learning to ask more detailed questions before they move to vote (still, for sure, an opportunity for both villages!). Here are a few of back and forths:
- Money - There should be FIVE options for the name of the currency, to be voted on
- (1) The Village money to be called Cha-Chings (no other suggestions liste din law)
- Comments in support of a menu vote
- Could you only use this in certain situations
- MOVE TO VOTE (ELIOT), SECONDED (Ruby)
- VOTING
- 40 in support
- 1 opposed
- Town Land Proposal - ¼ of land would be common, public land, ¾ of land would be divided into private plots
- Map + roads (four, walkable roads)
- Comments/questions/suggestions
- Do you have information on the actual size of the town’s land?
- Many students point to the land agreement (10 human yards by 9 human yards)
- Are there going to be roads between plots of land
- That is something we could add
- Will the roads go by each house?
- No, only some of them
- Is there any accommodation for smaller land?
- You are free to do what you want with your land.
- Do you have information on the actual size of the town’s land?
- MOVE TO VOTE
- VOTING
- 34 in support
- 9 opposed
- Currency Menu Vote (proposed by a student who saw that the first law needed to be added on to)
- Five names to be voted on for the town currency
- You can vote for a max of two
- The vote on the currency will immediately follow the passing of this law
- The names are to be determined now, in this committee
- MOVED TO VOTE
- 42 in support
- 2 in opposition
- Suggestions for currency name and the results:
Cha-chings 19
Beans 14
Doll Hairs 14
Pillows 9
Ramen 27
- Insurance
- The town will give the peeps insurance and pays half of the money for damage
- Friendly amendment: animal damage will be paid for by public insurance
- Friendly amendment: damage from natural causes will be covered by public insurance
- discussion/question/comments
- The peep contributes what it wants. The town could change the amount later
- What would stop the town from going bankrupt?
- Comments in favor of withholding public payments for houses.
- Comments with negative views on human nature
- Discussion of jail, private property, and how they interact with insurance. Insurance should not pay for “jerk moves”
- Discussion of suit for damages
- Friendly amendment: animal damage will be paid for by public insurance; accidental damage will be paid by the damager
- Discussion of gratuitous property damage
- Friendly amendment: damage from natural causes will be covered by public insurance
- Moved to Vote
- 29 In support
- 11 In opposition
I've thought a lot about this year. We began Village at Prairie Creek in the spring of 2004. That year, forty students played and we had a single Village. I was the only one who knew what to expect and we had an amazing adventure. In the years since, we've had many more adventures and there are so many stories about government intrigues, floods, hungry squirrels (shudder) and tremendous civic achievements. But the last two years have been severely disrupted. These kids have never played Village without significant constraints that limited the scope of the game. I am excited to see where students take the game this year when we are able to play it to its fullest - but I'm also wondering how much organizational memory we have lost. In so many ways we are all learning together again.
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