Assemblies. The basics.

A group of people that come together to conduct business is what is known as a deliberative assembly. It is important to realize that there are different kinds of assembly that can be established in order to conduct business. Mass meetings, organizations, legislative assemblies, boards, and conventions. All of these have some form of members and every member has four rights these are:
1.)The right to attend
2.) The right to vote
3.) The right to debate
4.) The right to make motions
When a group is established they have to choose a parliamentary authority which will be recorded within their by laws. There are many types of parliamentary authorities to choose from, the most popular one being Roberts Rules of order newly revised (RONR).

The rules of whatever authority the assembly chooses is what they will base their rules off of. This can be changed however if they choose to have special rules of order which is usually something adopted from a different authority rather than the one being used. You can find what authority is being used in the by laws of the assembly.

When a meeting is being conducted there are four main principles that keep the meeting orderly and increases efficiency.
1.) focus on one item at a time

• It’s important to keep conversations germane, so that what you are trying to accomplish does not get confused in the mix with other items of business.

2.) extend courtesy to everyone
3.)observe the rule of majority
4.) protect the rights of the minority.

There are also 10 basic rules of parliamentary procedure these are:

1.  The rights of an organizations supersede the rights of an individual members
2.  All members are equal and their rates are equal 
3.  A quorum must be present to do business 
4.  The majority rules 
5.  Silence is consent 
6.  2/3rds vote rule
7.  One question at a time; one speaker at a time 
8.  Debatable motions must receive full debate
9.  Once a question is decided, it is not in order to bring up the same motion or one essentially like it at the same meeting 
10.  Personal remarks in debate are always out of order 

  There is a lot to learn about Conducting business, however  if you learn this basic content you have a good foundation to further your exploration in the wonderful world we know as parliamentary procedure .

Week 2 in Review!

If you are reading this, congratulations! You made it to week two of the Fall 2018 #AgEdParli course! If you are reading this and have not seen the "Welcome to #AgEdParli!" or "Wednesday Words of the Week!" blogs, I would strongly encourage you to hop on over and take a look at those blogs to get some prior knowledge! If you have gotten this far and have no idea what Parliamentary Procedure is, you're about to learn, so buckle up! 

This week, we covered some incredibly important topics, including the fundamental rules and basic characteristics of parliamentary procedure. We also discussed the hierarchy of rules, the difference between meeting and session, quorum, and the order of business. 

To begin, there are 4 fundamental rules of parliamentary procedure. 

Numero Uno: Focus on one item at a time.

Nummer Zwei: Extend courtesy to everyone.

Numé Trois: Observe that the majority rules.

Number Four: Respect the minority.

These rules are important to ensure that meetings run efficiently and respectfully.

Next are the 10 basic characteristics!

~A Quorum Must Be Present to Conduct Business

~Rights of the Organization > Rights of Individual Members

~Once a Motion is Decided, it, or one Like it May Not Be Brought Up at the Same Meeting

~Debatable Motions Must Receive Full Debate

~Majority (rocks and) Rules

~Personal Remarks are Always Out of Order

~One Question, One Speaker at a Time

~All Members and Their Rights are Equal

~Silence=Consent

~2/3 Vote Rule

Hierarchy of Rules:

Federal, State, Local Statute

Corporate Charter or Articles of Incorporation

Parent Organization Charter or Bylaws

Bylaws or Constitution

Special Rules of Order

Rules of Order

Standing Rules

Job Descriptions

Policy Manual

Custom (Unwritten Procedure)                                                                                                                                      

Weekly Wisdom:  

A Session Always Consists of Meetings

But

Every Meeting is not Part of a Session

*Can someone comment below what the 7 types of meetings are? 

Order of Business: 

Reading and Approval of Minutes
Reports of Officers and Standing Committees

Reports of Special Committees

Special Orders

Unfinished Business

New Business

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week, and bring your scuba gear because we are deep diving into bylaws! 

Wednesday Words of the Day!

Welcome to our new series: Wednesday Words of the Day! (Just about) each 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

Deliberative Assembly - a group of persons following a parliamentary authority to conduct business
RONR (11th ed.), p. 1-2

Board - smaller than other assemblies determined by responsibilities and powers

Convention - a type of deliberative assembly; an assembly of delegates (e.g. Farm Bureau annual meeting) RONR (11th ed.), p.7

Local Assembly of an Organized Society - a local group that is part of a bigger group that has bylaws, membership, and follows the rules of larger group (e.g. FFA, 4-H)

Mass Meeting - a meeting open to everyone (e.g. town hall meeting) RONR (11th ed.), p. 5-11, 20-38

Legislative Body - constitutionally established public law making body of representatives chosen for a fixed term of office (e.g. voting) RONR (11th ed.), p.8

Parliamentary Authority - a book of rules on conducting business in deliberative assemblies (e.g. Robert's Rules of Order, AIPSC, Mason's, Canon, Demeter

Tune back in next Wednesday to expand your parliamentary vocabulary! If you are viewing this blog from an outside perspective, please comment below some vocabulary words that you think would challenge students!

I belong to what? And have What rights?

As the first week of AEE 216 is ending and the new one is beginning I am reflecting on rights we all have as a member of an assembly has as well as what are some assemblies (bonus that I get to learn how to make a blog post!)

Welcome to #AgEdParli!

This week, twelve unique individuals, two excited teaching assistants, and one driven professor made history when they attended their first two Parliamentary Procedure classes of the semester!

Let's have a look at some of the things that we did! 

On day one of the class, Dr. Foster began by providing introductions to each student in the class. This purposeful exercise reminded us that this class is more than a general education requirement, and in this class, students are more than just a number. Throughout this semester, we will truly get to know each other! 

Then, we took a look at how parliamentary procedure developed through the years and why it was developed. To get an idea of where this incredible system came from, please check out the video linked below that a group of students created last semester as their Space for Innovation project! 

Who was Henry Martyn Robert?  

Next, instead of getting our feet wet, we dove directly into the deep end, reading and learning about Robert's Rules of Order and parliamentary procedure. We learned, in depth, about what a Parliamentary Authority is and Deliberative Assemblies (and we got a taste of Dr. Foster's playlist). Did anybody know before class on Tuesday that there are multiple parliamentary authorities for a society to choose from?! 

Before class ended, we discussed the characteristics of a deliberative assembly. If somebody correctly posts these characteristics in the comments, there may be a prize involved! 

Impact Moment: learning how diverse this class truly is. Some students have experienced parliamentary procedure in clubs they are a part of at home, some at school, and some had no experience. A lot of students were members of the National FFA Organization, but there were a few who were not. A small number of students also had experience competing in the Parliamentary Procedure Leadership Development Event. The point is, this class is a very diverse team, and I am incredibly excited to get to know everyone even more!

If you are reading this blog and are not enrolled in the course but would like to follow our learning, next week's topic of discussion will be a short continuation of the rules of deliberative assemblies, and then we will be covering the topic of *drum roll please* bylaws! 

Reading to be completed for Tuesday: RONR 11th, pg ii; Chapter 1 (1-19); Chapter IV (81-99); Chapter XI (345-375); Chapter XVIII (565-599)

What did everyone think of class this week? If there are any lingering questions, questions about the upcoming reading, or favorite moments, I'm looking forward to seeing them in the comments! 

Posts from Tommy

http://thomasfq.blogspot.com/2017/12/types-of-voting.html

http://thomasfq.blogspot.com/2017/12/quorum.html

http://thomasfq.blogspot.com/2017/12/recess.html

Accredited Parliamentarian--- SAY WHAT?!

Background:

First semester at University Park campus. 

First class with Dr. Foster as the professor. 

Anxiety level-- at an all time high. 

I have never encountered parliamentary procedure in a formal sense until AEE 216 was introduced to me. My FFA chapter used parliamentary procedure, as well as my volunteer fire company; however, I had no idea what this whole concept of parliamentary procedure was coming from in relation to my degree in Agricultural and Extension Education or in relation to FFA. 

Dr. Foster is slightly intimidating on certain days, and intimidating professors paired with an intimidating topic is not exactly the ideal combination to enter one of the most intimidating semesters during your college career (aside from student teaching--YIKES). 

One quote kept me going throughout this semester, this quote kept me going and prevented me from giving up and not reaching my full potential.

My entire life, there have been people doubting me, and for the longest time I chose to let those individuals get to me and allowed myself to give up on my dreams. There have been times where my self confidence has diminished due to the people that want to see me fail getting inside my head and I began to make those comments and discussions true for my life. The quote, "There will be haters, there will be doubters, there will be non-believers, and then there will be you, PROVING THEM WRONG," has kept me humble and confident throughout this semester of my college career.

Enough about me... let's talk Parli!

Parliamentary procedure at the beginning of this semester, was the most boring class that I had ever heard of. I was preparing myself for the worst semester of my college career. However, from the moment that I walked into Ferguson 214 on day 1 of fall semester, my entire attitude towards parliamentary procedure changed. I realized that I know a lot more about parliamentary procedure than I could ever imagine. I also learned not only the basic facts about parliamentary procedure but how the concepts relate to real life and just how valuable the lessons and concepts are. 

What I've Learned About Parli:

1) Historical Development of Parliamentary Procedure

2) Deliberative Assemblies & Rules

3) Proper Conduct of Meetings

4) 25 Different Motions

5) 4 Classifications of Motions (and Main Motions), and their precedence (rank or order)

6) Parliamentary Procedure in Societies (FFA- National FFA Convention)

7) Nominations

8) Officer Duties and Elections

9) Committees

10) So much more!

What I've Learned About Myself:

1) Challenge yourself!

2) You are capable of doing anything that you put your mind to!

3) There will always be someone that is better than you- learn from it. 

4) You are not as unintelligent as you make yourself out to be. 

5) Application is everything. 

I am pleased to announce:

Although the class is intimidating and may be a step outside of your comfort zone, the course load is very manageable; and Dr. Foster is not as intimidating as you may think! 

I declare this blog post- Adjourned!

-Kayla R. Stauffer

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

Agricultural and Extension Education-- Class of 2019 

Accredited Parliamentarian