NEW JOB POSTING: The MACC Mini-Brain!

There is a new position opening up in the Capitol Hill MACC 6/7 program: the MACC Mini-Brain.

The Mini-Brain is a job similar to “class president.”  The role of the Mini-Brain is to be the teacher when Prof. Great Brain isn’t in the room or when he doesn’t feel like being the teacher.  The Mini-Brain is to Prof. Great Brain as Robin is to Batman.  The Mini-Brain is a natural leader, fair and kind, and helps shape policies that affect the lives of the students of Division 3.

(Full disclosure: this idea was stolen directly – and then adapted – from the incomparable Ms. Cowan, founder of the Cap Hill MACC Pack.)

Job Description

Duties:

• Forms government of choice
• Leads the creation of our Class Agreement
• Holds bi-weekly Town Hall meetings to share policy decisions and hear the concerns of constituents
• Records attendance
• Leads students to the gym and Music and sends people to start again if they are talking while in the halls
• Helps Prof. Great Brain make decisions, such as:
  – what activities to do for D.P.A.
  – when to take breaks
  – what movies to watch for the end of term celebrations
  – how much milk and sugar to put in his coffee (remember: we are only capable of 7-8 truly thoughtful decisions a day)
  – things he doesn’t want to think about
• Controls the class jobs basket
• Helps classmates solve minor conflicts
• Holds the tie-breaking vote in the case of a tie in class votes
• Reminds people to do their jobs
• Welcomes guests to the room and helps make TOCs’ lives bearable
• Politely corrects Prof. Great Brain’s spelling errors (and French pronunciation, if so able)
• Sighs wearily at the P.A. system when there are too many announcements
• Other duties as they arise

Mandatory Skills/Assets – some combination of the following:

• Trust-worthy
• Optimistic
• Prepared
• Open-minded
• Responsible
• Positive
• Confident
• Helpful
• Respectful
• Experienced
• Wise
• Eco-friendly
• Understanding
• Efficient
• Caring
• Fun
• Polite
• Empathetic
• Amusing
• Professional
• Encouraging
• Righteous
• Purposeful
• Economically Responsible
• Loyal
• Patient
• Brave
• Committed
• Charismatic
• Peaceful
• Honorable
• Ambitious
• Grateful
• Good-natured
• Generous
• Forward-thinking
• Factual
• Inspirational
• Mature
• Powerful Speaker
• Proud
• Principled
• Straight Forward
• Honest
• Relatable
• Welcomes Diversity
• Smart
• Fair
• Supportive
• Nice
• Passionate

Hello, Leaders of Tomorrow.  Welcome to your first campaign.

For a combination of Social Studies, Career Education, Writing, Math, ADST, and Art, you will each create a project to determine the first MACC Mini-Brain!

Remember that letter and package from President Obama that we explored? For the campaign for the MACC Mini-Brain project, you will each create your own version of that document.  It will contain:

1. A persuasive essay, explaining why you should be the first MACC Mini-Brain. In this essay, you will try to win our votes by explain how and why you best fit the Mini-Brain job description.  On Campaign Day, you will deliver this speech to the class.
2. A campaign poster, done on 8.5 x 11 paper or cardstock. This can be a self-portrait, like the photo of President Obama that was in the package we explored, or a catchy and meaningful visual with a catchy and persuasive slogan; or some combination of those two representations.
3. Creative choice: remember the bios of the two Obama dogs? What would you use on this third page to humanize yourself, grab our hearts, and tell us more about your values?
4. A written interview, in which you answer the same questions that President Obama answered, with the idea of being truthful and showing your personality, but also trying to win our votes.

Remember: there is no one way of being an effective leader, and there are not leaders and non-leaders; leadership potential exists inside us all, and there are an infinity variety of ways of expressing it—what’s yours?

Good luck!