Students at Georges P. Vanier School in Donnelly were given a unique opportunity Feb. 19 to provide their views regarding ways to improve the current education system. It was all part of new government-backed initiative called “Speak Out - Alberta Student Engagement Initiative,” which included the participation of 45 students at the school in grades 9 to 12. The forum, which ran from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, encouraged Alberta youth to provide a fresh and youthful perspective on issues and concerns within the learning system. “We were really pleased with the participation and response from our students,” says G.P. Vanier Principal David Doucet. The first component of the forum exercise consisted of getting to know the group with each student given the chance to send in their questions. Those questions were then added and calculated into percentages for each question/answer. The students were then asked to provide their top three reasons for coming to school. Answers included: wanting to go to post secondary (college or university); to be with their friends and; to get a high school diploma. From there, students participated in a group activity challenge which focussed on three questions related to: . Identifying what was most important when it came to learning or teaching them; . Identifying the things that held them back from learning and; . Identifying what could be done to overcome the obstacles mentioned in question two. Answers to the first question ranged from having teachers who have improved ways of teaching in addition to teachers who can meet their individual needs. The top two answers to the second question were lack of motivation and teaching problems while question three saw students place a number of key suggestions on a bulletin board. From there, the group was asked to complete an evaluation where they indicated if they were glad to participate in the forum. A total of 74 percent said they were pleased to participate. Also attending the forum was Smoky River Family & Community Support Services Director Penny Fox, who was on hand as an observer. She says the forum served as an extremely informative exercise in hearing what youth had to say about the present education system. “As an observer to this process, I certainly gained some valuable information to take back to my FCSS board for programming and projects in our region,” says Fox, who tipped her hat to the school for stepping up to the plate and taking part in the process. A total of 35 schools in the province participated in the recent forum. G.P. Vanier was the only school in the division to participate. Results of the forum will be dissected in greater detail at the upcoming Annual Student Conference being held May 3 to 4 in Edmonton. The conference will provide 200 youth from across the province with an opportunity to continue the conversations from the regional forums and come up with recommendations about education and their future. The Speak Out - Alberta Student Engagement Initiative was unveiled by the Government of Alberta during the Speech from the Throne on Feb. 4 as part of its desire to improve Alberta’s education system.