Skills Learned Can Be Applied Later In Life

What would make the average 14-year-old sit through two days worth of note-taking? The answer: a chance to learn how to affect politics.

About 40 students from the Coeur d’Alene area piled into six minivans and drove six hours to attend the Youth Leadership School in Seattle on April 29-30.

The two-day workshop, conducted by the Leadership Institute (an $80 million nonprofit, nonpartisan organization) boasted expert keynote speakers and 24 hours of lectures.

The students were shown how to conduct effective campaigns through mobilizing youth masses and coordinating those collective efforts.

“I can apply the skills I learned to anything from ASB elections at the school to giving a private business much more effective organization,” said Paul Rouse, a sophomore at the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.

“I gained political leadership skills, I learned about grass roots campaigning and I took 70 pages of notes. It was one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had.”

Students learned how to create election canvasses. The canvass involves a hierarchy of responsibility that is almost military in nature, employing the fewest number of people to extrapolate the most amount of information in a district or on a high school or college campus.

“The stuff I learned about political technology is going to help me execute an effective campaign next year for ASB president,” said Kayla Moore, a junior at Lakeside High School in Plummer. “They taught me a lot about organization - more than I would’ve guessed made up a campaign. I learned a lot - I ate a lot - I took a lot of notes.”

While the majority of students favored the experience, a few were surprised at the extent image plays in politics.

“I guess I decided to go in case I get into politics later on. I figured I could build a solid basis in issues and theory,” said Russel Dunne of Post Falls High School.

“But I learned that a lot of what determines who wins an election is sometimes more about the image they put across than what they stand for. A lot of leadership is purely image.”

Not just high school students attended the conference. There were college students from as far away as Hawaii and Missouri. Adults starting their own businesses and even candidates running for office attended the seminars as well.

Meredith Tourney, a first-year law student, explained that the skills apply to all ages.

“I learned about holding mock elections, how to handle the media, different ways to get out the candidate’s name, and all sorts of things that can mean the difference between winning and losing,” she said. “There was so much information being thrown out that I don’t think I caught it all. I would love to go back next year and brush up.”

Tourney said she’s encouraged by the student participation. “I was excited about seeing so many young people there because that means they’ll be using these skills in high school and in college. I’ve only been out of high school three years, but I wish I had had this kind of opportunity then.”

Due to the significant involvement of students from the Coeur d’Alene area, the Leadership Institute may consider conducting the seminar in Coeur d’Alene next year. That would mean many of the local participants would be going back for a second helping of practical political technology.

This sidebar appeared with the story: TELL US YOUR THOUGHTS

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