Democracy at Year 9

Have you heard we recently had a “food truck” visit the Year 9 Campus? And that Nicole Werner, the State MP for Warrandyte, came along to give a democratically inspired speech? 

Amongst the many varied and sometimes outlandish things we do at Hall Rd, an 8-minute drive away from “the powers that be”, I assure you the food truck had a great deal of academic merit!

This activity forms the culmination of our second Humanities unit, aptly named Politics, where students campaign in their Humanities classes for a Melbourne - based food truck to provide dessert for the whole year level. 

Half of the lessons comprise theory on democracy, with real-world examples from Australia’s political landscape; the other half allow students to form a political party centred on the food truck their class has chosen and then run a campaign for that food truck to be elected on voting day. 

Some examples of food trucks the students were campaigning for include Crepes for Change, Let’s Waffle ‘n’ Shake and Cornutopia Taco Van. These are all real businesses owned and operating in Melbourne and/or Victoria who are blissfully unaware their names and branding are being displayed on posters around Hall Road and who are the centre of an extremely passionate political campaign!

During the campaign period, we’ve seen choreographed group dances, TV advertisements, speeches, debates and even rap battles, all aimed at boosting votes. We even saw Richard Reed (Year 9 Royalty) paid off as “Teacher Endorsement” for improved campaign credibility, although this later proved unsuccessful for boosting voter engagement. 

Another important component of this multifaceted learning experience was our in-house currency (still pending approval from the Royal Australian Mint), aptly named “Buchs” after none other than Taimi Buchan (also Year 9 Royalty). Each of our political parties had $1200 Buchs to spend on their campaign. The funds were handled by each party’s Treasurer and dispensed in accordance with their campaign plan. 

Each of these moving parts resulted in a program that sees students show genuine interest and passion for democracy and how Government is formed in Australia. It is an enormous privilege to be a part of this community and see the creativity and humour that our amazing Year 9s bring to each lesson. 

Thanks for reading, and vote Crepes for Change #1!