Elementary - High School Session - Two United Studios of Acton Quest - 2024

In this session, we will be transforming all three studios in the United Studios Of Acton! 

Yep, we are going to try and navigate the minefield of government and politics! We have worked hard to make it a fun interactive experience, a “grand experiment”, for our whole campus to put the Eagles in the shoes of political roles. 

  • The Eagles will be assigned to a political party (Ethical Party, Moral Party, or Independent). 

    • Each party will be given a platform (see the attached as the example of the platform). Independents will have a combination of each platform. 

      • Each platform topic will be given specific points (points correspond to voter importance). 

      • The party that passes the most bills (line items) that support their platform will win!!!

  • Each studio is going to elect congresspeople and senators that will represent them in the United Studios Of Acton Government. 

    • Each studio will have two senators and one congressperson per 4 Eagles.

  • Here is a general session schedule (very much subject to change):

    • Week 1 - Government Basics (What are the responsibilities of each branch.)

    • Week 2 - Preparing Campaigns & Stump Speeches

    • Week 3 - Primaries, Voting (November 5th), Creating Bills, & “Horse Trading”

    • Week 4 - Voting On Bills, Creating Re-election Campaign Materials For Candidates

    • Week 5 - Campaign Candidates, Re-Election, 

    • Week 6 - Exhibition

Our goals for this quest are for ES, MS, & HS Eagles to understand: 

  • The responsibility of each branch of government.

  • The checks and balances of each branch. 

  • The process of getting a bill passed. 

  • The motivation of political figures and why they make the decisions.

In addition to the goals above the HS and MS will be exploring: 

  • The role of committees. 

  • The role of the media. 

  • A separate experience to take a deep dive into the Supreme Court. 

OUR COMMITMENTS TO YOU:

  • We will not bring up any political topics in the studio that are being discussed by any of the political candidates. 

  • We will only focus on the process and procedures of how the government currently functions and the logic of why those were put into place. 

  • We have asked that all Eagles only discuss United Studios Of Acton politics in the studio. All external politics to be discussed outside of school with their parents. 

We encourage you to have conversations with your Eagles and talk about your experience and knowledge about government. Hopefully, you can start to have deep conversations about politics outside of The United Studios Of Acton. 

Our roles as owners and guides (as always), are to stay Socratic. We understand that we do not have all the “right” answers. We understand and are committed to making sure that we are giving Eagles tools to think for themselves, and to NEVER tell them what to think. 

GENERAL GOVERNMENT GAME RULES

  • Each studio, ES MS and HS, will act as a state in the United Studios Of Acton.

    • Each “state” will get two senators. 

    • There will be one congressperson per four students in each studio.

  • Each Eagle will be assigned to one of three parties (Ethical Party, Moral Party, or Independents). 

    • Each party will be GIVEN a platform (see platforms below). Independents are given, randomly, a mixture of each platform. 

    • Each platform issue is given a set number of points (importance to the voters). 

  • There will be an election on November 5th to elect the representatives from each studio. 

  • The ES studio will not be able to run for president or vice president because they are not of the minimum age. 

  • Eagles can run for the House or Senate and the presidency/vice presidency at the same time. 

    • If they are elected president /vice president, the second place person in the Senate Race  

EXAMPLE PLATFORMS

Party Platform A

Party Platform B

Sand

Snow

Ocean

Mountains

Building w/ Wood

Building w/ Metal

Legos

Furbies

Marine Life

Land Animals

Sunset

Sunrise

Fairies

Unicorns

Beans

Corn

Tile

Carpet

Super Glue

Duct Tape

Push-Ups

Sit-Ups

Mild Cheddar

Sharp Cheddar

Love Seats

Recliners

Pronounce Gif as "gif"

Pronounce Gif as "jif"

Mechanical Pencil

Standard Pencil

Stratus Clouds

Cumulus Clouds

Hardcover

Paperback

Saturn

Jupiter

Topo Chico

San Pellegrino

Curtains

Blinds

EXAMPLE LAUNCHE

WHEN DO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO YOUR IDEALS OVERRIDE YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY?

Watch this clip of Paul Harvey talking about the founders of this country. 

The founders of the United States were wealthy people and had little to gain financially or personally to go against England. They knew they were putting their lives and their families lives on the line for an ideal they had. 

Question: 

Would you be willing to put your life on the line for one of your ideals?

Would you be willing to put your family’s lives on the line for one of your ideals?

- Acton West Guides