student representatiive councils

[Kon Bouzikos]

Hello everyone not sure if everyone is familiar with the term SRC ( Student Representative Council). We use it here in Australia to describe elected students reps who organise fundraising events and seek to make the lives of others better. Not sure what others think but not all SRC groups in schools are active and supported either by leadership staff or teachers in general. The whole idea of having a SRC is to empower students to make decisions to encourage them to be creative, innovative and daring !. The fact that school life is becoming more and more busy and there is an ever growing curriculum , means that the SRC leader in a school who is also a classroom teacher)has little time to coordinate and motivate the SRC group properly in a school. I sincerely believe that all teachers in a school should support the initiatives and work of the SRC and it should not be a responsibility that falls on one or two teachers in a school. How many times has there been an agenda item in a whole staff meeting about the SRC? In my 12 years of teaching the answer is a big fat zero. how much do teachers understand the importance of an effective SRC ina school if it is not even discussed at a whole school level? My intention is not to sound negative or pesssimistic but in my opinion these are the crucial questions that demand immediate answers. Undoubtedly the SRC is a major group in a school which can act as an agent of change in a school to promote social justice. The SRC needs to be high on the educational agenda. Interested what others think?

Kon Bouzikos

[Jenny Luca]

The SRC at my school has a very high profile and is highly regarded in my school Kon. In every school I have been at the SRC group has had voice. Are you in charge of an SRC group? If so, what steps could you be taking to ensure it is given the profile it deserves in a school setting? In my experience, students need teacher leaders who can drive initiatives. They don't have to do all the leg work, but they do need to be there to support and encourage the students in their care.

[Kon Bouzikos]

Hi Jenny,
I have heard of many success stories concerning SRC's in schools abut I have also heard and seen at first hand schools where the SRC has no voice and no support. As I said in my initial message the SRC has to be supported by the entire school community and all teachers need to support it . Yes we do need an SRC teacher overseeing the REPS who have been elected but these teachers Jenny also need support. By support I mean time allowance, a reasonable budget, opportunities to attend PD's with SRC reps. This is becoming more difficult as the SRC teacher is also a classroom teacher in most Primary Schools and time is big issue.I have spoken to many teachers who have this role and they can get disillusioned at times as they are pretty much feel alone Perhaps in your schools these favourable conditions have existed but as you know not all schools are the same .and not all schools have the same enthusiasm. I even know of schools where there are no SRC's running. As for my experiences on the SRC I would rather not say anything on this forum. The underlying point in my whole discusiion is that the school culture in a school drives the SRC and the way it operates. The school culture in schools differs from school to school.