Years ago, a former colleague told me about French classrooms having student “delegates”. Essentially, they were elected classroom leaders that helped the teachers and other students with various tasks. Genius! While it’s a modern trend to assign classroom jobs to every kid, that feels like too much to me: too much to set up, too much to manage, too much to make work.
So I opt for the Delegate System! I created a system that works for me and for my high school classroom, and over the years I’ve tweaked it to be a well-oiled machine.
What is a delegate?
On one of the first days of school I explain the system to students:
Every class and every level of French, has two delegates. They are elected class leaders, and though they don’t have extra homework, they do have extra things to do in class. We’ll be voting for our delegates in class tomorrow.
What do they do?
Then I go on to explain the responsibilities of the delegates:
Delegates take attendance* with their own class list and seating chart. They write down the daily plan in the calendar so absent students know what we did. If there’s a sub, the sub has the delegates’ names and will go to them for help or with questions. The delegates are always the game captains, and they lead everyone to the meeting spot during fire drills. Delegates let the teacher know when there are birthdays in class, and they are the “go to” people when the teacher needs input about about the class (e.g. if it’s better to have the quiz next Monday or next Tuesday). If a student is absent, whey he/she comes back, they will go to the delegate first (not the teacher!) for notes or explanations of concepts.
*The delegates take attendance right away at the beginning of the hour and then put their delegate folder (which contains the attendance sheet) on my desk. When I have time during the period, I will input the attendance into the online system. I have the final say in attendance, and I can change what the delegate logged. Maybe the kid they thought was absent is actually in the nurse’s office, for example, so I change it.
Who would be good at it?
I let the class know what makes a good delegate:
You want a delegate who has good attendance. You’ll be going to them when you come back from being absent, so you don’t want someone who was also gone! You want someone whose notes you can read (because you might have to copy them) and who understands what we do in class (because they’ll be helping you). Delegates who are organized are the best, and it’s important to vote for someone who is approachable.
But why would you want to do it?
Being a delegate doesn’t help your grade, but it does have its perks:
Being a delegate is a student leadership position, so you can include that on college/job applications. On food days, delegates go first, and they always get the extras. If there’s random food around the building for teachers, I’ll snag some for my delegates! When we get World Language t-shirts, the delegates get a discount. Once a semester, the delegates get a Delegate Lunch–pizza! At the end of each semester, the delegates get a small gift.
The voting
When it’s the voting day for delegates, I ask who would like to run, and I put their names on the board. They have to stand up, introduce themselves, and give a (very) brief speech about why they would make a good delegate. Then I allow a question or two from the class. Kids might ask about attendance records, and some want to see a writing sample on the board! Others will ask to see examples of the candidates’ organizational skills.
When students give their speeches, some will bribe the class: If you vote for me, I’ll bring donuts tomorrow! This sometimes works….and sometimes backfires! Others may engage in playful mudslinging: I know Johnny was absent 5 days last semester on vacation! Do you want that? I’m a delegate who will be HERE for you! Again, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t!
For voting, every student gets TWO votes, and the top two vote winners are that semester’s class delegates! Second semester, it’s a re-vote! Some kids are elected delegate every semester, and other classes like to make sure it’s different people each time.
Download my Delegate System handout here. (Note: there is French and English on it. Just take out the French if you teach another language.) I have a special delegate folder for each class, and I put this explanation of the job in that folder along with the delegates’ copy of the seating chart and their attendance sheet.