News

YLT Class 5 Government and Wellness Day

By Youth Leadership Tallahassee, 11/20/2008

YLT Class 5 was exposed to the Government and Wellness community, thanks to the effort of Program Day Chairs Sheila Costigan and Josh Doyle. During the wellness segment, Dr. Nancy Van Vessem of Capital Health Plan provided the class with some alarming statistics regarding the childhood obesity epidemic. Adam Farout of Titus Sports Academy explained how he parlayed his love of sports and fitness into a career. Mary Barley, Corporate Wellness Director of Golds Gym showed how simple breathing techniques can lower stress levels, using a computer program that graphed heart rates.

Government was the next topic. The class heard from County Commissioners John Dailey and Bryan Desloge about local government operations, and Judge Janet Ferris, Public Defender Nancy Daniels, and State Attorney Willie Meggs explained the different roles each of them played in the justice system.Bob McClure of the James Madison Institute discussed the 3 documents on which our government is based: the Declaration of Independence, the Consitution, and the Bill of Rights.

During lunch, the class explored the roles they would play during a mock legislative session featuring a bill that would require year round school. In the State House Chamber, the class members acted the parts of legislators, concerned citizens (parents and business people), and otherparties that would be interested in the issue of required year round schools. Following the debate, the mock bill failed by a large margin.No year round schools for YLT!

The leadership skill of the day was decision making. Jeb Blackburn required the class members to rank items they could use for survival if stranded on a deserted island. The class found that their individual rankingswere less likely to result in their survival than the rankings they did as a group.