This is a guest post from Nicole Waskul, a 3rd-year Justice Studies student from the University of Guelph-Humber. Nicole facilitated 4 “Canada’s Next Top Law” programs in Toronto classrooms in March 2014.
Hi there, my name is Nicole Waskul. I have been involved with OJEN as a student volunteer where I have facilitated a couple of awesome outreach programs to high school students. The past few months I have worked alongside other student volunteers, justice sector professionals, and members of the OJEN staff to prepare for these programs. They have been a huge help to me being an effective student facilitator and they have also been a resourceful guide for me as an aspiring professional of the justice sector.
I would like to talk about the Canada’s Next Top Law program. This program is an excellent opportunity for students to express their opinions on the justice/injustice issues that occur within our communities, our nation, and even internationally. The motive of the program was for the students to create a brand new law proposal and enter them into a province-wide contest. It was amazing to hear all the ideas! The engagement of students, teachers, and the OJEN team developed into highly interested conversations. We facilitated high school class discussions on important community issues, focused on how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms impacts everyone in Canada, and how important it is to stand by your views on what young people feel is right/wrong in our everyday society. I believe that the Canada’s Next Top Law program is a great program to promote student participation not only in the classroom, but on topics that affect their society. Voices are meant to be heard, and the Canada’s Next Top Law program allowed an opportunity for students to have their voices heard. I enjoyed my time working with OJEN on the Canada’s Next Top Law program; students were encouraged to share their views as they presented with confidence and respect.
Great job to all of the students who participated in Canada’s Next Top Law and Good Luck to the top chosen proposals!
For more information about the Canada’s Next Top Law program, or to request a justice sector facilitator like Nicole to visit your classroom, please visit https://ojen.ca/program/6844.