Today was extremely interesting. I found myself preparing for a Aldermanic forum - nothing odd here, except the audience. I was going to be addressing Grade 7, 8, and 9 students. As I thought about this task, the questions that came to mind were - Do I change my delivery - do I address their needs - Facebook, texting, and gaming? Why? I have always been about the community. It isn't just traffic, infrastructure, and accountability. Talking with my student contact, he understood my SMART traffic system. He knew my views and where I was coming from. (Ms. Wild - Reid deserves an "A"). So no change - talk to the students as you would anyone else. Students are amazing - say a word they don't understand, they don't give you the confidence nod - they say pardon me? Our ward is interesting - my daughter asked what was different about this election than others - via text btw, and I stated there was no incumbent - I got the typical student huh? So I explained...
Conversations with students shouldn't be any different than those you have with your buddies, your peers, and your constituents (who you first meet knocking on their door). You have to be able to communicate with all people all the time. If you take the average, then the business management constituents will understand what you are trying to convey as much as the Grade 9 student. When you start to use language to prove your knowledge, you may start to alienate some.
Congratulations to St. Helena for hosting the most robust, and widely attended forum (I know - the students were told to be there...) But if they listened, they heard some interesting comments, and of the 9 candidates that attended, we said the same, but different comments on the issues you raised. The key was - did you really listen?
Once again, Election day is October 18 - Please vote!
It was nice to be in a setting where people are excited about politics. To the kids of St. Helena - Stay excited, stay involved, stay informed. You are the future of Calgary, and if you take this to the next level, you will have and create an opinion that counts. Maybe even start your political career by unseating me as Ward 4 Alderman in 2016.
Have a super week!
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