Government is People: Creating a Symposium of Local Government Speakers

• What services does my town government provide?
• Who are the people who work in local government?
• How does their work help me?

Planning and attending a local government symposium will help students answer the compelling question by learning about people who work in their local government and about their jobs. The symposium’s focus is on the people who carry out the work of local government, rather than just on elected officials, although these decision-makers can be included. The information shared with students will vary and will often be detailed and heartfelt. Even people who are not accustomed to public speaking can easily talk about their day at work and why their work is important.

The conversations and discussions before, during, and after the symposium will give students real-life insights into the role and work of government. Hearing about local government directly from those who do it will help them understand that “government is people” and that they can have access to people in the government.

1. Review compelling and supporting questions.

2. Use the Symposium Planning Checklist, Sample Speaker Invitation, and Sample Symposium Schedule provided in the Toolkit above to plan your Symposium with student input.

3. Talk to students about the different levels of government (local, state, and national) and ask them to name ways that government has an impact on their daily lives: stop signs, roads, schools, sanitation, public works, safety, parks, etc.

To begin thinking about who works in local government, students will examine photographs of municipal buildings or properties in their town. They will identify the building or property in each photograph and discuss who they think works at each place. You can correct misconceptions and strengthen their ability to determine who may or may not work for the government. Consider expanding your scope to include state and national examples in order to introduce or reinforce the levels of government. Using the images, talk to students about the basic functions of each place, the people they serve, and the people who work in them and develop a list of government activities that influence students’ lives.

• Local examples: libraries, schools, town or city halls, parks, town greens, transfer stations, road repair sites, and landfills.
• State examples: buildings or places in your area or in the capital city of Hartford. Important government buildings in Hartford include Connecticut’s State Capitol, Legislative Office Building, Supreme Court and State Library, Department of Transportation, etc.
• National examples: U.S. Capitol, White House, U.S. Supreme Court, interstate highways, National Parks.

4. Students will visit the State of Connecticut’s online list of Cities and Towns to find their local government’s website. Using the WebQuest worksheet, students will read four problems and use the website to discover services the city or town provides to address each problem. They will also reflect on why the town might provide these services. Students should focus on local government roles that are most familiar to them, such as libraries, parks and rec, animal control, public safety, and schools.

5. Introduce the concept of the local government symposium and explain that you will be inviting government employees to speak to the class about their jobs. Brainstorm a list of people who work in local government that the students want to meet and hear from during a symposium. Reference the Symposium Planning Checklist for Teachers for tips on planning and holding the symposium.

6. After speakers have been invited and confirmed, students will brainstorm questions they can ask the guests that will help them answer the compelling and supporting questions.

7. During the Symposium, students will take notes about the information shared by each speaker. They can use this sample note-taking page: DOC or PDF. You can also have students take notes in a Google Doc in Google Classroom or compile shared notes and additional information in a class Padlet (click HERE for a screenshot of a sample Padlet).

• Students with a personal connection to a symposium speaker, or students who really enjoyed hearing from a particular speaker, can write a letter to the speaker after the event. They can use this sample thank you note assignment: DOC or PDF.
• Reflecting on the compelling question of “How Does Government Touch My Life?” students will choose one of the speakers from their local government, describe their job and place of work, and explain one specific thing the person does that directly touches their life. You can find a sample assignment and rubric here: DOC or PDF.
• Students will choose which of the government jobs they have been introduced to they would like to do most and write about why.

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