This afternoon I had the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Walther's Leadership Class. These are the 10-12th grade teenagers who are planning the upcoming debate Wednesday, Oct 13, 7pm at Ferris High School between Chris Marr and Michael Baumgartner. They are a very bright, thoughtful and open group. Their teacher referred to them as "the best of the best" in leadership at the school. A lot went into the planning of this event. Ben and Dillion attended the debate between Marr and Baumgartner at the Rotary Club and took what they thought worked well and incorporated into next week's event. The class of 20+ students had to get sponsorships, design ads and posters, create a facebook page and they even produced a radio ad. They are also in charge of set up and clean up for the evening.
The answers to the question What did you learn from this experience were insightful. They learned their strengths, the need to plan ahead and be flexible, perseverance, organizational skills and how much hard work was required.
They all agreed it was an interesting experience which made them more likely to register to vote when they turn 18. I asked if they thought voting makes a difference and the overwhelming answer was yes.
What do they think are the big issues the candidate who wins will be faced with? Not surprising the first one was education followed by crime and taxes.
The questions for Marr and Baumgartner are being gathered by the Debate Class. There will be between 12 to 14 questions and the candidates do not get to see them in advance. Nadine Woodward is the moderator. The class will conduct a straw poll at school to see who won the debate.
Thank you to this inspiring class for their candid answers and their efforts to bring these two candidates together for the voters of Spokane to hear. In return I will treat them to some dance lessons.
Please write this event on your calendars and be sure to thank the Leadership Class and their teacher, Jennifer Walthers, for their hard work!
Now that's education!
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