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The MICROSOCIETY program represents a new breed of learning environments. Students collaborate with parents, community members, and teachers to create a warm, caring and dynamic high success climate inside their school. They do this by building a miniature society inside the school and establishing a center of commerce and governance in which every child and adult participates. |
Every child becomes "somebody". Students create and manage business ventures that produce goods and services as well as agencies which handle governmental functions and lay the ground work for organized accountability. This is done by integrated curriculum in the core subjects along with "hands-on" experience. These organizations multiply the options students have to lead and to succeed. |
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The last hour of each school day is spent in Micro with the students "going to work" in their jobs or taking their "day off" and shopping in the market center. Thoreau students have become competent and knowledgeable about the demands and responsibilities of real life experience in the workplace. |
| They pay taxes, cash check, obtain business loans and pay them back, buy and sell products, order supplies, and even take a class to obtain a food handlers license. |  |
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The students have become well aware of their interests and aptitudes for certain occupations that will enable them to make positive choices regarding future career goals. |
MICROSOCIETY COMPONENTS
MicroSociety is a program that enables a child to relate curriculum to real world experiences in a non-threatening environment. Students will collaborate with parents, business people and teachers to create their own miniature societies. The GOVERNMENT and CITIZENSHIP strand will combine social studies curriculum with skills needed to create and operate a democratic government. Citizen rights and responsibilities will be studied along with government processes and procedures. Elections will be held to send delegates to the council as representatives and to elect a president, vice-president, secretary, parliamentarian and treasurer.
The TECHNOLOGY strand is a mixture of technology education and professional use of different types of technology. Basic skills are taught and practiced in the classrooms. Creating and producing business advertisements using the mediums of audio, video or print, producing TV news shows or documentaries or creating and producing original software for students to use in their businesses are some of the ways MicroSociety can be used for real world learning.
The HEART strand integrates activities with community service. Citizens contribute to the welfare of the society by volunteering services during their day off or during time outside of school. The heart strand encompasses the areas of Humanity, Ethics, Aesthetics,Responsibility and Respect and Trust.
The ARTS & HUMANITIES strand combines appreciation of music, art, drama, poetry, writing, drama and cultural heritage with a business to promote the arts. Profit and non-profit celebrations through museums, theater, dance and music recitals are avenues of expression that can be incorporated into the society.
The ECONOMY strand enables students to use accounting, banking, and other clerical skills in an actual business setting. The skills learned will enable them to operate in the free market society created in OZ.
The ACADEMY consists of mini-courses of specific skills needed to operate a successful business or assume employment in a specific field. The academy is on the job training by the facilitator or community professional that gives the students the ability to perform their job. Mini courses in law, banking, marketing, law enforcement, council, chamber will be used to further enhance the students marketable skills.
The pre-Micro curriculum (Emerald City Micro –
Managing, Investigating, Creating, Running, and Organizing a Business) will be covered during the first three weeks of Micro. At the end of the pre-Micro curriculum, students will participate in the Emerald City Job Fair. Facilitators will set up booths advertising the various positions available in each business. Students will select three jobs and apply for them. Job applications will be submitted to the facilitator and interview notices will be sent to the students. Facilitators will send letters offering positions to students. The students will reply with an acceptance letter and two weeks of job training (academy) will begin. When job training has been completed, OZ will hold a grand opening and Emerald City MicroSociety will officially be open for business.
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(RATIFIED BY THE PEOPLE ON OCTOBER 19, 1998) |
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We the Citizens of Emerald City, in Order to form a better Society, establish Justice, insure Peace and Safety, Health and Welfare for all our citizens and secure the Blessings of Freedom for Ourselves and our Future, do ordain and establish this Constitution for Thoreau Demonstration Academy. |
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Article I The Legislative Branch |
| Section 1 Power is vested in the Council to make laws and rules for Emerald City. Teachers and staff shall serve as advisors and facilitators. If a law is broken the Council will determine punishment and the courts will enforce it. |
| Section 2 There shall be two, (2) representatives from each tribe per semester, and if one representative is missing, the other shall represent the tribe. |
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Section 3 No tribe shall make money, or currency, or create its own laws. No citizen shall go to another Micro Society to share technology or make treaties without the consent of Council. |
| Section 4 No person shall be a Councilor who is not a citizen of Emerald City. The Vice President of Emerald City shall be Chief Councilor but shall have no vote unless there is a tie. If there is a vacancy by an officer by resignation or otherwise the Chief Councilor shall select the person to fill their place. The Council shall have the power to impeach the President. The citizens may request the Council to impeach the President. |
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Section 5 The election for President of Emerald City shall be held every semester. Only current students attending Thoreau Demonstration Academy can run for government offices. |
| Section 6 The Council shall assemble every Monday and Wednesday of school days, and if school is not in session, it shall assemble the closest day that school resumes. Council may by law appoint a different time, day, or add more time if they think it necessary. |
| Section 7 All delegates shall be paid while they are doing their job. Councilors shall not be allowed to have any other job in Microsociety. |
| Section 8 All bills, including those for raising taxes, shall originate in the Council. If the President shall not return any bill in five, (5) days (Saturdays and Sundays excluded), the same bill that has been in the President’s possession shall be come a law. Every order or resolution must be approved by the President or disapproved. |
| Section 9 The Council shall have the power to: lay and collect taxes, duties and imposts, and to pay for the debts of Emerald City; but all duties shall remain uniform throughout the time in Emerald City. |
| To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and fix the standards of Weights and Measures; To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of Emerald City; |
| To establish post offices; and to promote the progress of Science and Useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writing and Discoveries. |
| Council has the power to: Constitute courts below the Supreme Court; Punish corruption and offences against the law; enforce the laws of the Microsociety and suppress insurrections. |
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Article II The Executive Branch |
| Section 1 President shall be elected every semester. There is no age limit. They can be in any grade. They must have at least a "C" average. One referral is grounds for automatic impeachment proceedings. |
| Section 2 All Emerald City officers may be impeached according to such conditions as determined by Council. The Vice President / Chief Councilor may vote Council on a disagreement to be the tiebreaker. |
| Section 3 All Emerald City officers are elected at large from the population. There shall be a campaign speech from each candidate. There will be a two week campaign period. Everyone votes in his or her tribe. The tribe teacher will return the ballots with a tally of votes for each candidate. There shall be only one vote per person. |
| The Chief Councilor shall in the presence of all council members open the envelopes containing all the votes, and the votes will be counted in the presence of Council and their advisors/facilitators. The person having the greatest number of votes shall hold each office. |
| Section 4 The President and all officers shall be sworn in two, (2) days after they are elected. |
| Section 5 The President and all the officers shall receive an amount of pay that will be decided by law for their services each month they hold office. The amount will never be increased or decreased during their term in office. |
| Section 6 The President has the right to veto or to sign bills to make them a law. If the President is absent, the Vice President shall assume all presidential duties until the President returns. |
| Section 7 The Vice President is to supervise officials in their duties and had the right to terminate officials for neglect of duties, or for a good cause. |
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Article III The Judicial Branch |
| Section 1 The Judicial Branch shall hold all judicial power in Emerald City. Council may establish minor courts of specific jurisdiction as it sees fit. |
| Section 2 No officer of the Court shall receive more than three summonses or one referral per quarter, or Council will review their eligibility to stay in office. Pre-existing summonses are not considered for this requirement |
| Section 3 The Judicial Punishment will be decided by either mediation or jury. Council shall be vested with the power to decide whether any case will be decided by mediation or by a jury trial. Trials shall be at such places as the Council may by law direct. Council shall hear all cases of Impeachment. Council will establish guidelines to determine the severity of the penalty for given offenses. |
| Section 4 No provision of this Constitution will violate any laws or policies of Tulsa Public Schools, or the State of Oklahoma, or of the United States of America. |
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Ashley, Heather, Girard, Chelsie, Gareth, Jimmy, Tyler, Lacey, Jarvis, Ryan, Shaun, Graham, Tracy, Brian, Cameron, Amina, Tima, Joel, Ben, Patricia, Lauren, Nick, Lauren Facilitators: Tony F. Ruiz and Sandra Warren |
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Ashley, Heather, Girard, Chelsie, Gareth, Jimmy, Tyler, Lacey, Jarvis, Ryan, Shaun, Graham, Tracy, Brian, Cameron, Amina, Tima, Joel, Ben, Patricia, Lauren, Nick, Lauren Facilitators: Tony F. Ruiz and Sandra Warren |
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AMENDMENTS & RESOLUTIONS First Amendment |
| By order of the 1998-1999 Council; Councilors shall be allowed to have a second job or business, aside from their Council responsibilities, thus amending Article I § 7. |
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Second Amendment By order of the 1999-2000 Council; The Offices of the Executive Council shall be held once per school year; and further amended by the 2000-2001 Council; Thus Article II § 1 shall now read |
| "The holdings of President shall be (once) annually. The Executive Council shall be limited to seventh and eight grade only. In the event of an emergency situation is declared by Emerald City Council in a two-thirds majority vote, elections can be suspended and an exception can be made to this amendment, elections will be held at the beginning of the next school year and only for that year. At which time the offices of the Council Records Officer, Treasurer, and Sergeant at Arms can be held by a sixth grader. They must hold at least a "C" average during their term of office. One referral is grounds for automatic impeachment proceedings. |
| Article II § 3, the following item shall be
stricken from the Constitution: "The Chief Councilor shall in the presence of all council members open the envelopes containing all the votes, and the votes will be counted in the presence of Council and their advisors/facilitators. The person having the greatest number of votes shall hold each office." |
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| Article II § 4 shall now read: "The President and all officers shall be sworn in by a judge in a reasonable time frame after they are elected." |
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Third Amendment By order of the 2000 - 2001 Council; Article 1 § 2 will now read: |
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" There shall be two, (2) representatives from each business per semester, and if one representative is missing, the other shall represent the businessThe two representatives from each business will be elected or appointed at the beginning of each year and three weeks before the end of the first semester if said business so decides. All councilors shall be elected or appointed by their business. Following the election or appointment, there will be a two week overlap period during which departing representatives and newly elected or appointed representatives will both serve during the transitional period. (See Resolution below). |
| RESOLUTIONS: Clarifications |
| By order of the 1998-1999 Council; Clarification of Article I, § 2 part 2. Each tribe shall elect two councilors to serve the term. One active, and an alternate, in case of absence due to illness, Field Study or other excused absence. |
| By order of the 1998-1999 Council; Clarification of Article I, § 6, second sentence. Council shall meet on Fridays and or any other day which Council shall see fit to meet. |
| By order of the 1998-1999 Council; Clarification of Article II, § 1, a "C" average means an overall average, not per course. |
| By order of the 1999-2000 Council; The Senior Officers of Emerald City shall now henceforth be referred to as the Emerald City Executive Council. |
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By order of the 1999-2000 Council; Article 2 § 3 "All Councilors elected by their tribe, shall henceforth be removed from Council Payroll and be redefined as Servants of the Emerald City Community and receive compensation for services rendered as credit for Community Service under the Heart Strand. Each councilor will receive one hour per month of Community Service Credit upon completion of said duties." |
| By order of the 2000-2001 Council; General Elections shall be held yearly one month prior to the end of the school year or within a reasonable time set by a majority vote in Council. |
