Experiencing Learning - Kryslynne

For our service we went to United high school to teach their ffa chapter about parliamentary procedure. One take away from this experience is that sometimes you may have to change the lesson to better fit the students. We created a power point with all the terms and motions we thought were most important. Before we presented the power point we spoke with the students to asses their knowledge. After speaking with them we decided to remove some of the slides because we felt like the class didn’t need to go over them. Also we were able to spend more time on the topics that they had more difficulty with. 

I feel like this was a great learning experience because it taught us that our intended lesson plan might not be what the students need. Also that we should be able to adapt to the situation to provide students with meaningful knowledge. All in all we had a great time at United high school, increasing their chapters knowledge on parliamentary procedure. 

You Never Leave With Less

I never once thought I would be in a parli class, let alone sharing my newly learned knowledge with others. Coming from an FFA chapter that had no parli skills, I knew that AEE 216 would be a challenge, but I also knew that I wanted to be the best agriculture educator that I could be.

It wasn't a hard decision of where I wanted to go to preform my service activity. I would travel the 1 hour and 23 minute drive to Armagh pa, and I would take Kryslynne with me. We prepared a power point presentation that has the motions needed to compete in the CDE. I knew that I wanted to head back to my home school to be share the knowledge that I have gained though a simple decision to take a  class about Parliamentary procedure.

Walking into AEE 216 I knew nothing about making motions, or even what bylaws were and why a club would create them. And now I would be walking into a classroom and teaching them how to make motions, and correctly use parliamentary procedure.  The students that were ours for the day seem excited to be there, they were actually excited to learn, but when it came to participating in the mock meeting they were shy. Mistakes were made, and laughs were had but at the end of the day I knew that the students left with me information than they walked in with.

Now that my time in AEE 216 has come to an end, I know that I have left the class with so much more knowledge than I walked in with. When taking up an opportunity there is no way possible that you will leave that experience with less knowledge that you started with,therefore every opportunity is well worth it. Although I am not an accredited parliamentarian, I can say that I have succeeded in this class, I impacted others, I have gained more knowledge, and I have left with more.

Blind Leading Blind

Through Parli Pro I have felt as though I was not quite on the same level as my peers whether that be experience wise or just overall knowledge of the content. So, when I began work on my service project I became very nervous, how was I someone who has little to no background in Parli Pro suppose to teach a group of high schoolers the basics?? The planning process was probably the most difficult part,  knowing that I need to teach the students at Penns Valley something but not really sure what that something was going to be yet. I agonized a lot about my portions of Justin and I’s workshop as I felt as though I was not qualified to teach these kids because I knew the frustrations of learning from someone who was not knowledgeable enough about the content. So, I start with the stuff I knew, I knew. 

• Robert’s is a book of rules about parliament procedures (essentially the parli pro bible for FFA members) 
• Members have the right to: 
• Attend
• Debate 
• Vote
• 1 item at a time 
• I move is how you make a main motion 
• 5 basic principles 

All of these things helped me to better understand the very complicated concept of parli pro. The students at Penns Valley Area High S

Through parli pro I have felt as though I was not quite on the same level as my peers whether that be experience wise or just overall knowledge of the content. So when I began work on my service project I became very nervous, how was I someone who has little to no background in parli pro suppose to teach a group of high schoolers the basics?? The planning process was probably the most difficult part know that I need to teach the students at Penns Valley something but not really sure what that something was going to be yet. I agonized a lot about my portions of Justin and I’s workshop as I felt as though I was not qualified to teach these kids because I knew the frustrations of learning from someone who was not knowledgeable enough about the content. So, I start with the stuff I knew, I knew. 

• Robert’s is a book of rules about parliament procedures (essential the parli pro bible for FFA members) 
• Members have the right to: 
• Attend
• Debate 
• Vote
• 1 item at a time 
• I move is how you make a main motion 
• 5 basic principles 

All of these things helped me to better understand the very complicated concept of Parli Pro. The students at Penns Valley Area High School we’re just as eager as I was to get some knowledge about parliamentary procedure and we’re not expecting to become pros over night, making my confidence level go up. As I talked through the topics, I began to realize I knew more about parliamentary procedure than I realized and then I had given myself credit for. I am glad that I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and deep dive into an area that I had yet to discover and I’m thankful for the opportunity to better FFA members and their chapters. 

It's All in the Cards

It's All in the Cards

I served the entirety of my time as a Collegiate LDE Assistant at the National FFA Convention as a comment card assistant. What does that mean you might ask? Let me explain. When a parliamentary procedure team is presenting, three judges are taking notes and writing down scores. Three collegiate assistants sit at the table with the judges and also take notes. When the team is done presenting, the assistants sit with judges as they tally up scores. While the judges are conversing, the collegiate assistants write down the recommendations given by the judges on a comment card. These comment cards are then put in the team packets that the teams will receive at the end of the competition. The comment cards are crucial for teams as these are the only professional recommendations that they will receive from the judges. It is imperative that the collegiate assistants write down any recommendations or critiques that the judges might give. If a parliamentary error occurs, the assistants will also write down the error and give a page and line number from Robert's Rules of Order for the team's reference. 

On a personal level, I find this to be the best opportunity to learn parliamentary procedure from professionals. I learned so much as I listened to these professionals apply parliamentary procedure right in front of me as they talked about the performance of each team. All of the judges have parliamentary procedure credentials of varying degrees and each of them have unique experiences in which they apply parliamentary procedure. One of my favorite people to work with is a full-time parliamentarian.  It is amazing for myself and students alike to know that you can pursue parliamentary procedure as a career option. It proves that this LDE is extremely relevant and applicable outside of FFA.

This is the third year in a row that I have assisted with this LDE. By serving in this capacity, I have a greater appreciation for parliamentary procedure and its relevancy in our lives. But I have obtained an even greater appreciation for the countless hours that students and advisers put into this competition to be the best that they can be on the national stage. 

A Parli Pupil & Peer: A Story of Service

A Parli Pupil & Peer: A Story of Service

Megan and I's Visit To Penn's Valley FFA Chapter

A real test of knowledge is not taking an exam or assessment but rather, trying to convey the information to others in an effective manner. Megan and I underwent this test trying to get a group of 13 high school students to be excited about something like parliamentary procedure. As with life, the work paid off eventually.

Upon starting, the students showed little interest , and who would blame them? This stuff is like a second language. Megan went over some parli terms, to test the waters, trying to get their knowledge level. To my surprise, they knew a decent amount about parli, such as what quorum is or how to rise to a question of privilege. SO now it wasn't how to get them to understand what was going on but now it was getting them to care about parli. "Okay, Justin." I said to myself. "If you've got an idea, you better pull it out quick or this may be a flop". I remembered Megan mentioning a few ways committees would be interesting and just like that, I had it. Megan turns the floor over to me and I more or less told the group that in order to do whatever they want, anything, all they had to do was put a plan together for the chapter. How do you get work done for a whole chapter in an effective manner? COMMITTEES!! Penn's Valley didn't have any committees so the group took off quickly to establish goals for committees.

Just like that, 2 parli pupils and peers, actually made a difference by igniting a passion for students. After all, that was the point of this assessment. This service was a real test of knowledge.

Revising bylaws with collegiate 4H

At one of the 4H meetings I had mentioned about looking at the bylaws and saw that they were really out of date. I suggested that we make one of the meetings dedicated to revising the bylaws for the club. They agreed to do it the following meeting which was two weeks after I had made the announcement.

When it came down to it we looked over each section of the bylaws and talked about what could be changed based on how the club is now. I came to find that people can be really stubborn when it comes to change. Especially when it could tamper with the Assembly's roots. After some discussion, we decided to just focus on the officer section of the bylaws.

What was changed:

• News reporter changed to news reporter/social media chair. We wanted to change this title so that way it was more up to date with how information is given out in today's world

• Ag student council representative turned into Ag student council representatives, they wanted to pluralize the position so that way it was understood that they wanted more than one person to represent collegiate 4H at the council meetings.

• They did away with the position of banquet representative because it was a position that was in conjunction with the teach Ag society, which is no longer a club here on campus anymore. 

After all the decisions were made I would say I really benefited from seeing all the conversation that can come out of discussing an assembly's bylaws.

Service and Innovation Review

After taking multiple weeks to create the 13 Ranking Motions Jeopardy game, and worksheet for the students of the Midd-West FFA Parliamentary Procedure Team, on Monday November 19th I officially presented it.

Along the way, I was stretching myself thin trying to make sure the worksheets lined up with the presentation to make sure that the students had to work hard first, then they could play harder in the competitive spirit of Jeopardy. The packets themselves consisted of a lesson preview, charts for main motion, subsidiary motions, incidental motions, and privileged motions, a score card for the jeopardy game, and a review sheet outlining what we had accomplished. There was extra time allotted for questions before and after the activity to make sure there were no questions.

Busy with Bylaws: A Morning with the Newport Parliamentary Procedure Team

Having the chance to give back to something that has changed you for the better is a powerful experience. This statement hits home every time I get to give back and have a positive impact on youth in agriculture, especially those in blue corduroy jackets. 

It has been a little over two years now since Newport's Parliamentary Procedure team got a fresh start with a group of nine excited individuals. And after months of studying, deliberating during mock meetings, and taking practice tests, we started competitions. Somehow, someway this group made an improbable run at states, and once there, were able to place first and advance to the National #SuperbowlLDE competition. 

Our Parliamentary Procedure Team after placing first at the 2017 PA FFA State Convention

Throughout our time as a part of this team, a few things stay with us even to this day. The first being a much greater understanding of parliamentary procedure, but we also forged a bond that was one of a kind. Practicing together multiple times a week at 7:00 A.M. has a way of bringing a group of teenagers together. 

Over Thanksgiving break, I had the chance to step back into that classroom, the same classroom that brought our team so close together. Being able to see eight smiling faces and know the amazing journey that are in for made me super excited. Especially because this time, I got to teach! After some discussion with my high school agriscience teacher and FFA advisor, Mrs. Barkley, we figured that the best thing for this team would be to cover something fundamentally important that I wish I would have more knowledge on during my time time on the team. The result we came to...bylaws!

Discussing bylaws back at Newport

This lead to a discussion and lesson on the nine standard articles that go into bylaws. But first, what are bylaws? Bylaws are a document of rules created by an organization or society that sets a precedence for how their organization conducts business. These nine standard articles set a solid baseline for bylaws, but bylaws can contain more than just these nine.

When teaching bylaws for the first time, a great tool to use is the mnemonic device NO MOME C PA (sounds like no mommy, see pa. Have you ever asked mom for something and get a no, only to ask dad shortly thereafter? This mnemonic device sounds a lot like that progression). 

But what exactly does NO MOME C PA stand for? These articles strive to answer the following questions(and more!).

N - Name: What is the name of the organization or society?

O - Object: What is the goal/objective of this organization?

M - Members: Who are your members? What rights do they have? Membership dues? 

O - Officers: What offices? What responsibilities? How are they elected? How do we fill vacancies?

M - Meetings: When are they they? How often? How do we call them? Special meeting protocol?

E - Executive Board: Who and how many serve on this board? Special rules for their meetings?

C - Committees: What standing committees exist? How do we make a special committee?

P - Parliamentary Authority: What parliamentary authority does the organization follow?

A - Amendments: If we need to change these bylaws, how do we do that?

That morning I was able to spend 40 minutes discussing the importance and meaning of these articles with the new Parliamentary Procedure team. Attentive and ready to learn, I cannot wait to see what they accomplish by participating in this leadership development event. 

And as I look back and reflect, a couple key thoughts come to the forefront.

1. It is amazing how the opportunity to build a team for a competition like this can bring people together

2. There are always opportunities to give back and share knowledge. We should do this more often.

3. I cannot wait to spend my future career sharing knowledge with amazing students such as these eight.

I was truly blessed to get a chance to share a little bit of knowledge regarding bylaws and parliamentary procedure.

Parliamentary Procedure, running meetings and bringing people together. Two noble and important tasks.

Committee Reports: What really needs to be reported?

Any organization can split themselves into groups to concur different tasks during a meeting, and call them committees. Committees are a great way to divide and concur to ensure all work gets done, but when it comes time to report back to the assembly how many times are items missed? Throughout my time in the Midd-West FFA I noticed that our committees managed to help the assembly accomplish many tasks at once, but telling the assembly what really went on in their meeting never went very well. Students did not know how to properly form a report, and many times would say "We discussed the topic at hand", and that was all the assembly knew. They did not know what was voted on, what details were brought up, or even what the committee thought was the best route for the assembly to take in the matter.

Reading about committee reports in RONR this week has really helped me see the value of properly presenting the information that was accomplished during a committee meeting. It also allowed me to evaluate how much more effective the Midd-West FFA could be if the properly presented their committee reports. It also got me thinking about how many other organizations struggled because they did not properly utilize their committees and the reports presented back.

A few details I picked out of RONR 11th Edition Newly Revised included; a report can only contain "what has been agreed to by majority vote at a regular or properly called meeting of which every member has been notified... where a quorum of the board or committee was present" (503, 16-21). To form a detailed report on one topic there are four easy steps. In the following order those are, "A description of the way in which the reporting body (usually a committee in such cases) undertook its charge; the facts uncovered or information obtained; the findings or conclusions derived from the facts or information; and resolutions or recommendations" (505, 26-33).

If I have the opportunity to work another service project over my holiday break, I would love to go into a meeting of the Midd-West FFA Chapter and assist in having committees work towards strengthening their reports back to the assembly. The few details about committee reports could really change the course of the committee structure and reports within the Midd-West FFA Chapter, and I hope to shed some light on that as another service project after this class!

We're Going to the SuperBowl but this isn't Football

It was a no brainer that when the opportunity came about to participate as a collegiate assistant at the National Parliamentary Procedure LDE, more recently known as the SuperBowlLDE. When asked I wasn't sure what that entailed but if it meant getting to go and see the contest for myself. 

As a collegiate assistant there was a plethora of jobs that were available throughout the few days that the LDE was going on. For me I decided that I should stick to things I can't mess up especially since this was my first time not only helping with something like that but also seeing the contest. I was assigned to be a time keeper and a event host at various levels for the contest.

As an event host it was awesome just getting to sit and chat with all the members competing and learn about their journey to get to the National contest. As someone who was always the one more passionate about Parli Pro than her fellow FFA members it felt really good to hear the passion behind why these members compete and realize just how much Parli Pro means to them. 

Time keeping was what I was waiting for since it was a chance for me to sit in on the action. I know time keeping doesn't sound like a very rewarding job but it gave me a chance to listen to what the members were saying and how they were performing the motions. 

At the end of this experience I learned how important parliamentary procedure was to so many people such as the members, volunteers, and judges. It was awesome to be back with people in the blue jacket since I miss wearing it so much and be able to join in the excitement about parli pro. 

To anyone who has the chance to participate even if it is doing something as simple as time keeping I would 10/10 recommend. You get just as much out of it as you put into it and so that means that you can decide how much you take away from this experience. Even if you don't think you know that much about parli pro, sign up for something where you have a chance to expand your knowledge while also still sharing what you know. 

Living to Serve: #SuperbowlCDE Volunteer

With a blue corduroy jacket zipped to the top and a copy of Robert's Rules of Order in hand, an eager and excited, young FFA member walks into the National Parliamentary Procedure Career Development Event contest ready to prove their knowledge of Parli Pro. This nervous, anxious, young FFA member is someone that I know very well; I was this FFA member.

In the fall of 2010, I was able to travel to the National FFA Convention and compete with my team in the National Parliamentary Procedure Contest.  My team did not advance past the preliminary round however that did not hinder my experience in the contest; win or lose I loved every second of it!  This was an opportunity that helped to shape me into the person that I am today and was one of the first stepping stone of my journey to become an Agriculture Educator.

Flash forward to this fall, I was able to make my way back to National FFA Convention and the

National Parliamentary Procedure Contest.  Instead of competing myself this time, I was there to help with the contest and all of the FFA members there to compete.  Through my Parli Pro class at Penn State, I was able to take the opportunity to be a part of a team of Collegiate Volunteers to help with the contest in any way needed.

I was so excited to be back and be a part of the contest.  Being surround by fellow Parli Pro enthusiasts and talking about in depth concepts of Parli Pro (which sounds like a foreign language to anyone else), it felt like a big family reunion.  I was able to learn so much during my time helping with the contest.  I was able to learn more to add to my Parli Pro Knowledge Library but also learned how to successfully facilitate and plan a contest, something I can add to my teacher toolbox.

I had a blast being able to be a part of a judge's team and help with comment cards just as much as being a holding room monitor.  I loved being able to talk to the students as the awaiting going into the semi-final rounds.  I remembered being in their shoes and how I felt sitting there waiting and I loved that I could just talk with them, calm their nerves, joke, laugh and learn more about each of their teams and their stories.

I cannot wait to be able to finally make it back to the National FFA Convention again for the National Parli Pro Contest however I hope that the next time with be with my own students and a team of my own to compete!  My Parli Pro journey has almost made it full circle and I am hopeful and excited to see if I ever will get to take my own team back to where it all began for me!

Macy Fisher
#psuaged18

Teaching Parliamentary Procedure: Then vs. Now

Having had the opportunity to conduct a workshop for FFA members on parliamentary procedure not once, but twice, was an amazing experience that was filled with learning opportunities for both me and the students. I love interacting with members while we work on honing our parli skills. I facilitated these two workshops at different times. The first one took place while I was serving as a state FFA officer, while the second occurred after I had retired and was taking a class on parliamentary procedure #agedparli. After facilitating the second time, I realized a drastic difference in how I facilitated and the content I used to teach the students.

Similar in both workshops, I had about a forty minute window to facilitate the "basics of parli pro". First of all, "wow". How in the world do you fit parli pro into just forty short minutes? I understand it's the basic level, but there's so much to it that it was a daunting task. Together with Thomas Gabel, we developed a workshop that we thought could rock the socks off any parliamentarian around. We designed the workshop to meet the needs of our members and the criteria that would be covered at the State Legislative Leadership Conference. We included an activity on agendas and basic motions, including an opportunity to practice in a "mock meeting". Overall, we felt the students walked away with enough knowledge to comfortably participate in the conference. Now for a disclaimer: I knew parliamentary procedure, but nowhere near an accredited level. I understood how to chair a meeting comfortably and explain simple rules and procedures.

Jumping ahead, when I was asked to facilitate a parliamentary procedure workshop at the annual AFY leadership conference, I jumped at the opportunity. Immediately after I said yes though, a dozen thoughts about the workshop swirled around in my mind. I had forty minutes, forty SHORT minutes to teach students the basics of parli pro. I had some work to do. My biggest challenge when developing and facilitating this time around was determining what was important and what wasn't. At this point, I had been in AEE 216 #agedparli for a number of weeks, and my parli knowledge had grown exponentially. I understood concepts, ideas, and practices much better than I had before. It seemed like everything was important for the students to know. I settled on three things that I thought were very important to learn: what parliamentary procedure is and why we use it, the importance of agendas, and basic motions that may come up in a meeting setting.

Using this outline, the students participated in multiple activities that enhanced these learning objectives. I believe in practice by doing, so at the end of the workshop, the students had the opportunity to act independently while running a mock meeting. I sat in the back as the parliamentarian and provided answer to questions as they came up.

Overall, the workshop at the AFY conference was a success. I was worried I had failed the students because I did not feel proud of my teaching. After the conference however, students approached me saying how much they learned. I received several inquiries to come to individual schools to work with local FFA chapters in parli pro. I can't wait to continue to work with members by helping them understand and use parliamentary procedure.

From the time I conducted my first parli pro workshop to the second, I had learned more about the topic than I thought possible. My knowledge of the subject helped better prepare me for a successful workshop at the AFY leadership conference. I can't wait to see where I encounter parli and members in the future! #agedparli #bob #RONR

The Power of Service and Innovation

The Midd-West FFA Parliamentary Procedure Team invited me to complete my service project in the classroom with them. Little did I know, was that I would learn more through the creation of my innovation project than the students I was teaching. It took me multiple tries to get the perfect mix of fun and knowledge in my innovation project, but I believe I accomplished just that when the six students joked with each other over who would be winning the grand prize in Jeopardy.

I created a Jeopardy game for the 13 Ranking Motions of Parliamentary Procedure. The activity began with a preview of materials that the students would be covering. I was shocked when right off the bat, they began asking questions to pick my brain about the 13 ranking motions they struggle with. Before they could have fun though, they needed to add in some extra work so they knew every answer to the Jeopardy. I utilized the charts that Dr. Foster provided for us, and handed out blank copies that they would fill out for future reference. After allowing them time to search through RONR for about 10 minutes, I reviewed the answers with them to make sure they had the correct answers moving forward. The students by that point were itching for a fun, competitive game of Jeopardy. As we moved from question to question, each student group of 2 built up their own stake of points until there was a defined winner of bragging rights until the next fun Midd-West FFA Parli Pro competition. The game was followed with review, where the students still had more questions to ask exploring the 13 ranking motions as deep as they could to understand them the best.

As I grew throughout the Midd-West FFA, we did not push the need for the 13 ranking motions for business meetings. I feel extremely confident in the power that these young members now have to correctly and efficiently run business meetings, and compete in the competition at a higher level. This experience really opened me up to the power of education in activity form, and I am thankful that they allowed me the time to work with them on the 13 ranking motions.

5 life hacks of teaching parli pro in middle school!

What did I think was missing from a 7th grade general agriscience class's unit on FFA? If you thought the answer was rules from our man Bob then you were right! Today I taught a 7th grade class how to adopt or fail a main motion. Here are some life hacks on this educational experience! 

1. Middle schoolers are just as excited as you are! When they took control of their own learning they were eager to learn more! I had them match the basic definitions of Main Motion, Second, Debate, Vote and Vote Results. They did this super fast and wanted to try it out! 

2. Excitement leads to students talking over you and getting each other round up sometimes. For example, I had them race to match the words and they ended up fighting over the winner. This allowed me to capture their attention by call and responses! The teacher I was shadowing loved it and couldn't believe how fast I got her kids attention! 

3. Be specific! I cannot stress this enough. The teacher I was working with helped lead a mock meeting! I love doing mock meetings, but guidelines are needed. She had them write a motion down. " write the first 2 words as I move and then add a place for a field trip" were her directions.

 By the end of class we passed motions to go inside a vending machine at a YMCA, inside a Nintendo switch, the bronx zoo and taco bell. These motions were helpful because the students wanted to discuss (well informally discuss) these motions, but it was hard to keep them on track and remember the meaning behind the prompt!

4. Never underestimate your kids. I went in thinking I would do main motion and they would never understand and it was going to be a complete flop! Well these guys learned main motion, division of the assembly, amend and previous question!! They learned basic of what they do not the full bob version, but they knew when to use them!

 This all started because someone said the voice vote was a tie and tried debating that with me. So we showed division of the assembly. Other students thought the debate was "dumb", so we did previous question. It shows how the students can pick up on small details and ask the right questions for an opportunity to grow their knowledge.

5. Teaching middle school agriculture is actually pretty sweet! They get their discovery degrees and basically and learn how to care for plants and animal and get to build projects in wood shop. Never have seeing a middle school class and their excitement makes me want to teach middle school and advocate for middle school ag! 

At the end of the day I had a ton of fun working with these younger kids on a topic I am so passionate about. They asked good questions and really got into debate and making motions. If nothing else every student was able to tell me what a main motion was, what a second means and how to word main motion and amend. 

The Turmoil Experienced by A Parli Peer & Pupil: Willy Nilly Parli Pro

November 13, 2018

To whom it may concern,

"Nothing against this organization I am currently engaged in, but folks, the parli pro we use for our delegate sessions is straight up wickity wack" said my inner-noggin as I sat on the floor during a policy development meeting on Monday. I will provide one story- and only one story to prevent the inevitable fumes erupting from the ears of a green, yet eager parliamentarian such as myself . I would ask anyone reading this to give me your input, did I do the right thing?

11:25 am. Monday November 12, 2018.

The way this organization does this is quite impressive and brilliant. Policies are provided prior to the session, reviewed by a committee and then submitted to the delegates to be deleted or amended. I should also let you know that this assembly approved their own set of rules, with nothing included about previous question. After debating on the deletion of an item, a member called "question" which of course was a relief because we were at 1 of a few hundred to review. WARNING: This is where it went down.

The chair states "The question has been called, we will now vote on the motion to delete..." BRUH. Goodbye Justin Kurtz, a new and improved, ddf12 creation has been unleashed on this delegate floor. Of course I shoot up and say "MR. CHAIR POINT OF ORDER, POINT OF OR-". To which a confused VP responds with "Give that kid a microphone". "Hello, Justin Kurtz, Centre County, I rise to a point of order because the call for previous question is a subsidiary motion requiring a 2/3 vote. Essentially we should vote on the previous question, closing debate, and then vote on the motion." Still confused, and now panicked, the chair refers to his consultants who responded that when we voted to suspend the rules, the previous question was also suspended so as soon as any member says question, debate comes to a close. BIG BRUH. I sat down, feeling defeated, and oddly enough yearning for Dr. Foster's presence to whip out his RONR and save the day. I mean seriously, just because one person wants to stop debate, we are going to restrict the right of debate to members? I am pretty sure this is would be out of line when referring to the characteristics of a Deliberative Assembly.

But hey, I guess if it works for them, maybe we should just let the custom be what drives the business? Or maybe we could just cover all of our bases when introducing special rules for an assembly? What are the downfalls of relying on custom? Was it more a hinderance when I stood to a point of order? Let me know,

Sincerely,

A Parli Peer & Pupil

Examining the Use of Committees: Practical Parli Pro

November 13, 2018

For the past few days I have been at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Annual Meeting participating in policy development as a delegate, engaging in productive discussion, and fore-mostly working with the Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee. As we discuss the practical uses of a committee in Parli Pro, I am seeing the proof right in front of my eyes. Committees are appointed to work on a large order of business, task or goal for example, getting Young Farmers & Ranchers involved in Farm Bureau. This committee consisting of 16 district representatives from across the state between the ages of 18 and 35 has been working tirelessly to promote the work of our organization to the next organization.

This committee spends about an hour a month deliberating, which in the grand scheme of things, doesn't seem like much. Well, that is the purpose! In addition to YF&R, PFB has 2 other standing committees focused on Women's leadership and Ag Promotion. Imagine if their were no committees and the state board had to do all of this work on their own, in addition to the work they already do. In addition to efficiency, committees provide the opportunity to ensure the matter is in the hands of subject matter experts, or at least people with the credentials to make a logical decision that would benefit the assembly. Hence why members of the YF&R committee are no older than 35.

Overall I wanted to illustrate my first hand experience with the efficiency of a committee, as long as properly utilized.

ATA Conclave- Say What?!

ATA Conclave

Prior to being in the Practical Parli Pro class I had never heard of such a thing as an ATA Conclave and if I would have heard it before the class I might have thought it was a cult or something. The idea of this event is that parli pro is to be used assembly style and in a more practical, applied method.

The way this event is run is there are 6 teams of 5 members from different universities. One team is the chairing team and assigns two members the role of chair person and secretary. The rest of the team just sits and observes the competing teams. When your team isn't the chairing team you are  competing with about 25 other members to fulfill the required amount of motions and debates. 

This all doesn't sound bad and I said to myself that it should be a piece of cake since there aren't as many stipulations as say, an FFA contest. I was SO wrong. Not only had I never seen Parli Pro done in assembly style but also I didn't quite realize the cutthroat nature that other schools had about the event. There were some motions that were allowed and some that weren't and the chairing team had to be fair in who they called on so even if you stood up 10 times you might only get called once. 

Regardless of how many things were different I still found this event extremely useful. It gave me an extra chance to see parliamentary procedure done in good and bad ways while also allowing me to practice my own parli skills. If asked I would most likely do this event again and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try. It can sound very daunting at first and not knowing what to expect out of it makes it even scarier but after doing it once I want to do it again! 

(2018 ATA Conclave PSU Participants) 

Reading Into Rescind and Reconsider

Previous Notice: “A requirement of previous notice means that announcement that the motion will be introduced-indicating its exact content as described below-must be included in the call of the meeting at which the motion will be brought up”

(RONR 11^th ed.), pg. 121, II. 22-27

“The call of a meeting is generally sent to all members a reasonable time in advance, which may be prescribed in the bylaws.”

(RONR 11^th ed.), pg. 121, II. 30-32

Rescind and Previous Notice: A motion to rescind will only “require previous notice if they are to be adopted by only a majority vote. Accordingly, it is ordinarily desirable to give previous notice if there is a possibility of serious disagreement”

(RONR 11^th ed.), pg. 122, II. 5-8

The previous notice can be given when someone else has the floor if they have not begun to speak, while business is pending and even after the vote to adjourn has been made if the chair has not declared the meeting adjourned.

The reason previous notice is so important for the rescind is because members need to have time to decide before debating on it. If members were aloud to constantly rescind motions without some notice, then heated arguments could be recycled throughout a meeting, thus a rescind would be counterproductive. Hence why 2/3 vote is required without previous notice, so it is not easy to undo the work of the assembly.

The Effect of Rescind: Rescind aka Repeal or Annul is used to strike out the entirety of a main motion, resolution or rule previously adopted. Basically, to bring back a motion and then kill it. The motion Amend Something Previously adopted will bring back a motion for it to be amended.

Rescind vs. Reconsider vs. To Call Up Reconsider vs. Reconsider and Enter:

Rescind: Bring back passed motion to kill it.

Reconsider: Bring back motion that could of either passed or failed for the assembly to reconsider the vote. Difference from rescind: Does not debate on the motion but rather the vote for the motion.

To Call Up Reconsider: To make a motion to reconsider when it is not able to be acted upon and then taking it up later.

Reconsider and Enter: To vote to reconsider a motion before it can be acted upon, then calling up the reconsider at a different session. Enter in to minutes provides a sort of previous notice to gain support.

Why Use Reconsider and Enter?

Say I make a motion to spend our time in #AgEdParli by playing non-stop checkers. You know you don’t have the votes to shut this down, so you make a motion to reconsider and enter to the minutes. This will place a suspending effect on the original motion. Meaning, it will not be taken up until it is called up at the next meeting. Therefore, you will be able to rally more votes until then, and fellow members will see that you would like to reconsider this motion that is suspended.

Request to be excused from a duty

Hello Everyone! As always Robert thought of every situation that might pop up! I am going to deep dive in this blog about the motion "Request to be excused from a duty."

Below is the use and characteristics of this motions:

Classification: Incidental

Purpose: To allow members to be excused from certain obligations.

Example: If a societies bylaws require members to attend a certain amount of meetings, hold officers, be on committees or even prepare work outside of a regular meeting this motion allows the member to be able to decline a part of their duties/demands as a member. This is a great way to be able to be flexible with members, but fair as well.



Precedence: Take precedence over any motion as long as the purpose is connected.

Applied to: This motion can be applied to all subsidiary motions except postpone indefinitely

In order when someone else has the floor and should be dealt with immediately

Does not require a second except when moved formally

Is debatable and amendable 

Requires a majority vote, but usually handled as a unanimous consent.

Only a NEGIVTIVE vote can be reconsidered




Why would you use it?

If you were assigned to a duty that you cannot complete or where not there when they assigned it to you.

It is a request, but is debatable and amendable and requires majority vote or unanimous consent.

Request must be made immediately

"All in favor? All Opposed?"- Reflecting my lesson

Preview of my lesson: 

I had the opportunity to work with a group of a group of freshman about one of my favorite topics, parliamentary procedure! Below is a quick overview of my lesson:

Do now: 

I decided to start off with having the students recall meetings they have attend to have them start thinking back on meetings they have attended and if how they felt in the meeting.

Anticipatory set:

I then had the students share their experiences at meetings with other students. As they were sharing I kept interrupting the whole group and throw out random facts about myself. This activity was to make the students feel like they weren't going to be heard in their mini meetings and to get them distracted from what they were talking about. The students got frustrated in their meetings. We all agreed that it was hard to focus one we got cut off and they did were not being heard.

I then introduced some main interests of mine to the group. I wanted them to know who I am and had a way for them to connect with me. 

Self Discovery Learning:

I love self discovery learning. I feel like a topic that kids might find less interesting this makes them want to learn about the topic. I placed the steps to creating and adopting a motion in sheet protectors and had the students place them in order. 

Once they discovered what a main motion was they found the flow of the order. Many students thought second was a "second opinion after a vote." When I was walking around to the small groups I had to ask some questions to get the group to place "obtain a second" in the right order.

Gaining attention from different learners:

The students then drew icons to these steps on the plastic sleeves to help them remember it. I then quickly lectured about main motion and the characteristics of it. 

We watched a great video of how a main motion is presented and passed in order to see the words and how it is played out. 

The students loved creating a dance to the steps of adopting a motion. The dance had to demonstrate what a main motion is, what a second is, what discussion looks like and a voice vote. The students presented their group dances and then I dismissed the class. 

Review:

I was overall very pleased with the engagement the class had in the lesson. I was surprised that the students wanted to learn about parliamentary procedure. These students had never heard of parliamentary procedure before that day. The students wanted to learn about voting and debating after the self discovery part. That activity helped my lecture component of the lesson! 

As an educator I need to plan my questions better. I tried asking students questions to make them think about why we would need parliamentary procedure and I struggled with that.

A Deep Dive into Week Five!

Welcome to a review of week five! This week we talked a lot about voting and motions! 

Beginning with a review, what are the five methods of voting that were discussed in the lecture and last week's blog?

🔹Precedence - refers to right of order and consideration of one motion over another, or the priority of a motion

Order of Precedence:                            

Privileged Motions:  

                           Fix Time to Which to Adjourn

Adjourn         

Recess           

            Question of Privilege

                          Call for the Orders of the Day

Subsidiary Motions:  

     Lay on the Table

                    Call for Previous Question

                            Limit/Extend Limits of Debate

          Postpone Definitely

             Refer to a Committee

Amend          

              Postpone Indefinitely 

Main Motion           

                                    Motions that Bring Matter Back Before the Assembly                

          Take from the Table

Reconsider   

Rescind        

Original and Incidental Main Motions:

🔹 Original Main Motion - Introduces a new subject of substantive matter

🔹Incidental Main Motion - Proposes action or a procedure incidental to, or related to the business of an assembly or its past or future actions     

      *Most closely correspond to secondary         motions 

Four Classes of Secondary Motions:

🐣  Privileged Motions 

🐣  Incidental Motions

🐣  Subsidiary Motions

🐣  Motions that Bring Matter Back Before the Assembly

8 Standard Characteristics of all Motions:

Second - is the motion secondable? 

Amend - is the motion amendable?

Debate - is the motion debatable?

Majority - is there a vote? if so is it a majority vote or 2/3?

Reconsider - can the motion be reconsidered? 

Interrupt - can this motion be made while somebody else has the floor?

Precedence - where does this motion rank?

Applicability - to what can this motion be applied to?

Presenting a Main Motion:

   🌵Step 1: Member Rises and Addresses the Chair

   🌵Step 2: Chair Recognizes the Member

   🍄Step 1: Member Makes a Motion

   🍄Step 2: Another Member Seconds the Motion

   🍄Step 3: Chair Restates the Motion

   🍄Step 4: Members Debate (if Debatable) 

    🍄Step 5: Chair Puts Questions & Members Vote

   🍄Step 6: Chair Announces Results of Vote

🌵 Two Steps to Obtaining the Floor 🌵

🍄 Six Steps to Making a Motion 🍄

Thank you for sticking with us! We did cover the subsidiary motions in class this week, but I wanted to do a separate blog for them! Check back in soon!! 

Four Score and Eleven Weeks to Go!

Welcome to week four where we are still discussing bylaws (😨), but we have also moved into another topic, voting and debate (😁). This is exciting news, because this means that we are one step closer to my all-time favorite topic, motions (😂)!!!!  Here's what happened this week!

Bylaws:

Amending Bylaws; A Surprisingly Simple Saga
1. Notice is Given
           ⤔ At any regular business meeting before the chairman declares the meeting adjourned
           ⤔ Typically under "New Business"
           ⤔ Bylaws committee can give notice under "Reports of Committees"
2. The Motion to Amend the Bylaws is Handled
           ⤔ This is an Incidental Main Motion
           ⤔ If presented under "New Business," requires a second, is debatable, and requires a 2/3 vote
           ⤔ If presented under "Reports of Committees," is debatable and requires a 2/3 vote
3. The Motion Goes Into Effect.....
           ⤔ Immediately
           ⤔ Unless specified in the motion to amend the bylaws
           ⤔ Or if the assembly specifies another time, votes upon it, and passes it with a majority vote

Revising the Bylaws: A Complicated Saga
          ⟿ This involves re-writing bylaws in their entirety
          ⟿ A committee is appointed to write these new bylaws
          ⟿ The revision is discussed, seriatim (Describe what this means in the comments for a prize!)
            ⟿ Each part is opened for debate and amendment
          ⟿ The entire document is then put forth to a vote
          ⟿ Adoption requires a 2/3 affirmative vote

Bylaws: The End

Debate:

Debate Decorum: 

         ⭃ Remarks must be germane to the question at hand

         ⭃ Remarks may not attack the motives of another member

         ⭃ All remarks must go through the chair - cannot call other members out 

         ⭃ Must avoid the use of member's names

         ⭃ Refrain from speaking adversely on a prior matter

         ⭃ Refrain from speaking against one's own motion

         ⭃ Refrain from disturbing the assembly

         ⭃ If the chair interrupts, be seated

Chair's Debate:

         ⭃ Should remain impartial

         ⭃ During debate, must relinquish position

         ⭃ Cannot return to chair until question has been disposed of

               *None of the above pertain to the motion to appeal*

Voting:

Types of Votes:

         ⤳ Majority 

         ⤳ Two-Thirds 

         ⤳ Plurality

         ⤳ Unanimity 

         ⤳ Absentee Voting ⤳ Prohibited unless Bylaws allow

Methods of Voting: 

         ⤿ Voice Vote - (Viva Voce Vote)

         ⤿ Show of Hands

         ⤿ Ballot - Requires Tellers

         ⤿ Rising

Voting Rights: 

        ⤨ Right of the chair to vote 

        ⤨ Right for a member to abstain

        ⤨ No right to explain the vote

        ⤨ Right for a member to change their vote

That's all folks! Thank you for sticking with us this far! This blog has a lot of dense material, so if there are questions or words you would like to see defined, drop them below ⬇! Stay tuned for motions next week! 

Wednesday Words of the Day!

Welcome back to this week's Wednesday Words of the Day! As a reminder, just about every Wednesday, I will post a list of words that students picked out throughout the week, including words that they had no idea about or words that they thought were important and would appear in the future. The definitions of these words are the definitions that students found in Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised (RONR), 11th Edition, or definitions that they derived from both RONR and their knowledge of the topic.

Majority - more than half of all members, members present, or votes cast. RONR (11th ed.) p. 5

Quorum - the number of members who must be present in order that business may be validly transacted. RONR (11th ed.) p. 345

Germane - closely related to or having bearing on the subject. RONR (11th ed.) p. 131

Hope you join next week! As always, if you have more words you would like to see defined, or words that you think are important, add them below!

Neat Article With Parli Involved

Parli News Article

Let's See Week Three!

Here's a peek at week three! This week, we really, really learned about bylaws!

Articles Generally Included in the Bylaws 

(NO MOME C PA):

*The Basics

I. Name
     1. Full, exact, properly punctuated name of the organization
II. Object
     1. Purpose of the organization, in one sentence if possible, with subparagraphs if needed
     2. Sets limitations on what can be discussed at business meetings
III. Members
     1. Classes of membership
     2. Qualifications for membership eligibility
     3. Fees, dues, and punishments regarding such
     4. Special requirements for good standing
     5. Honorary membership
IV. Officers
     1. Required officers
     2. Qualifications
     3. Election/appointment method
     4. Duties
     5. Nomination process
     6. Term
     7. Filling vacancies
V. Meeting
     1. Regular meeting schedule
     2. Designated annual meeting
     3. How to call special meetings
     4. Quorum
VI. Executive Board
     1. Composition
     2. Powers
     3. Rules regarding meeting conduct, schedule, quorum, call
VII. Committees
     1. Establishing standing committees
     2. Name, composition, selection of each standing committee
     3. How to establish additional standing committees
     4. Authorization of and how to appointment special committees
     5. Ex-oficio membership
VIII. Parliamentary Authority
     1. "The rules contained in the current edition of...(Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised)...shall             govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not                           inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order that the Society may adopt."
XI. Amendments
     1. Requirements and procedure
     2. Specification as to when amendments can be made

What are the four actions a member can take if a quorum does not exist?

The Orders and Unfinished Business:

Special Orders:

          ~ Items required by bylaws to be carried out at a specific meeting
          ~ Items postponed from the previous meeting by a 2/3 vote
          ~ May be considered at a specific time and may interrupt business

General Orders: 

          ~ Items postponed from the last meeting

Unfinished Business: 

          ~ Items pending when the last meeting adjourned
          ~ Items on the agenda from the last meeting but not completed 

Changes to the Bylaws:

Cannot be suspended except for clauses in the rules of order or as specified within the bylaws
Can be changed only through prescribed procedure (which typically involves previous notice and a 2/3 vote)

Qualities of the Bylaws:

Should:

1.  Be short and sweet
2.     Meet the needs of the society 
3.           Be clear and precise 
4.           Not  be  restrictive - "silence is still saying something" 
5.      Be separated into articles, sections, and paragraphs
6.  Utilize Roman Numerals, Arabic Numbers, and Alphabetic Letters (Upper and Lowercase)

Thank you for sticking with us this long! Next week will be discussing debating and voting (some of my personal favorite parts)!