Learning by Meeting: Town Council Teaches Lesson in Persuasion From: University Currents Date: May 26, 2000 By: Marianne Kunnen-Jones Phone: (513) 556-1826 Archive: Campus News The town of Winterhaven invaded McMicken Hall on May 17 as the town's school administrators fought to implement new measures to curb school violence and drugs. School officials outlined plans to place metal detectors at all entrances to the town's only high school, to conduct book bag searches as students enter the school, to issue ID badges to be worn throughout the school day by students and staff, and to search student cars and lockers randomly. "Privacy is not our concern because the parents have entrusted us with your lives," said a school administrator to students who attended the town meeting. "You are minors...Drugs and weapons are disrupting the school atmosphere. Those who want to protest, I strongly suggest you defer," he said. As he finished, he handed his statement over to teacher Michele Griegel, adjunct instructor of English in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, who will be grading the presentation and the written statement. Griegel is not the Winterhaven Town Council secretary or clerk of courts; she's a Freshman English teacher who used the fictitious town of Winterhaven to teach her students about researching an issue and building a persuasive argument that is backed up by evidence. The exercise, in addition to testing students' skills, also is testing an experimental Mayfield Publishing textbook called Scenarios for Writing, which Griegel agreed to try on a pilot basis in two classes. The voice of the school administration was in fact, UC freshman Joe Witham, who said he relished his role, drawing on acting experience he gained at Walnut Hills High school and in church skits. Other students, divided into teams, had to portray the views of high school seniors, the underclasses, nonparent members of the community, teachers and parents. One student presented the team's oral report while all members worked together to draft the written report that was more detailed and turned in for grading. The fictitious Westwood High School in the assignment had experienced recent incidents of student assault, a knifing, and confiscation of drugs, hard liquor, wine, clubs, pellet guns and a 138 Colt handgun. A new principal, Dr. Jenson, has proposed changes to make the school safer and free of weapons and drugs. Although some of the measures Witham was obliged to defend were what he termed "a bit extreme," he found the exercise valuable because it gave students "a hands-on approach to the subject" and something different to write than a traditional research paper. Student Mark Boda said students could relate well with the topic of school violence and drugs. "Violence is everywhere there are people and everyone had strong input from their own perspective." Boda also said the project taught students more about collaborative writing. Although real people might not be as "open-minded" as his classmates proved to be in the debate, Bill Hauer said, he appreciated the chance to interact with other students and learn from one another's drafts. The students' diligence in presenting the issue from a perspective different from their own personal viewpoint impressed their instructor. "I think it showed them how difficult some of these problems can be to solve. No problem is that simple. It gave them a realistic look at how people solve problems like school violence." As the town meeting concluded, the classmates reached consensus on only two points. Instead of ID badges, the forum called for ID cards or hall passes. Car searches, they said, should be done only with reasonable cause and not randomly. In the meantime, their teacher also reached a conclusion of her own: She plans to use the town meeting approach again.