INNISFAIL – Students at Innisfail Middle School had a recent special visitor.
Speaker of the Alberta legislature and UCP MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Nathan Cooper, and assistant sergeant-at-arms Tom Bell made a stop at the school as part of the Central Alberta Speakers Tour on Nov. 14.
They were at the school to teach students how the provincial legislature works and the important roles each of them have.
“I think that it’s very important that we get out and do what we can to bring our democracy to people,” said Cooper. “Not everyone can travel to Edmonton and I think this is a great opportunity for us to be able to really reach out in a meaningful way.”
Cooper recently completed a tour of several schools and community events across Central Alberta, including Trochu, Crossfield, Wheatland County, Carstairs, Olds, Innisfail and Sylvan Lake.
“We’re trying to make democracy an interesting and engaging topic. We talk about some of the fun and unique things that are the traditions of the assembly. We share some stories but we also talk about some very important principles around voting, the strength of our institutions and why our freedoms are important,” explained Cooper.
In addition, students also had the opportunity to see and learn about the province’s royal mace that is carried into the legislative assembly every day prior to the day's proceedings, by the sergeant-at-arms, chief of security and ceremony.
School principal Clark Peters said it was a unique learning opportunity for students.
“Having the mace here brings it to life. I think it’s so important for our kids to be engaged and to see how important politics is and how important our democracy is,” said Peters.
Grade 6 teacher Melanie Grant noted the relevance of the presentation, as students are learning about government and democracy in their social studies curriculum this year.
“He has told our students the history behind the mace, including the current mace as well as the original mace,” said Grant. “We also learned that the gems that are in the top of the mace spell the word Alberta and that was very interesting.”
She said students are learning about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, different types of government, and participated in a student vote at the federal level this fall.
“I think it’s going to be really impactful when we go to the legislature in June for our school tour,” said Grant. “They will already know about the mace, they’ll know about his role and I think they will be more engaged in the presentation at the legislature in June.”
