By Jeff Roland

Banfield Elementary Principal

As principal of an elementary school housing students in grades one through four, I am sometimes asked if having a student council is a worthwhile endeavor at an elementary school.  After all, the argument goes, these are kids ranging in age between 6 and 10, so what possible “governmental function” could they perform under the guise of being an elected student council?  Doesn’t it take away from instructional time?  These are all fair questions, but since I only have so much space to answer them, I have narrowed it down to three main points.

The first reason for elementary level student council is to allow all students to get a taste and an experience of living in a democracy and the power of voting.  Students get to observe how a group of their elected officials meet on a regular basis, discuss concerns and needs of the electorate, brainstorm events and garner resources to meet the needs, organize and host the events, and insure that the procedure outcome gets implemented or the revenues generated get dispersed to the proper agencies. 

The second reason is that a group of elected students have a stake in their school community.  These students see needs, concerns, a better way of doing things, and they have a platform to do something about it.  They become actively involved in their community at school.  This small group of elected students then go out and energize the rest of the student population to help with a concern or with a need and they become a part of the solution.  This energy becomes contagious. 

And lastly, even though simplistic in nature, our student council doesn’t look at the cause and effect in determining where to help, as this sometimes turns into need and blame in the adult arena.  They instead look at a need or a change and how we, as an elementary school, can help.  It doesn’t matter how the need came to be; it is simply a need that these 6 to 10-year-old students have figured out they can help address.

This year, our Banfield Student Council was instrumental in hosting a food drive that saw 3,537 food items collected to be distributed with our community over the holiday season.  They are currently working on selling candy canes with all the money going to the Mower County Humane Society. Other elementary schools are doing similar events. I am convinced that this spirit of being connected to something larger than themselves and their family at an early age fosters positive citizenship within our community and a greater participation role within our democracy as they become adults. I feel it is educational time well spent at school, and as a principal, I am extremely proud of what our elementary students have accomplished.