As a new addition to the curriculum, the history department has implemented the “Haverford Assembly” into the Fifth Form United States History course. The Haverford Assembly will span approximately two months, from January to March, and is obligatory for all U.S. History classes—both honors and standard.
The program is a mock representation of Congress, and each class period is treated as an official conference between representatives and leaders. These conferences aim to pass or veto proposed bills, find solutions, and discuss political issues to gain a deeper understanding of real-world problems.
At first, each student is a representative, but as the Assembly progresses, opportunities for leadership are available. Leadership roles include eight Rules Committee leaders, a Minority Party leader, Majority Party leader, and the highest position: Speaker of the Assembly.
Classes use parliamentary procedure, as the Fifth Form history teachers believe it is a great way to structure civic discourse. According to the Haverford Assembly Canvas page, “[Parliamentary procedure] promotes the calm exchange of ideas while surfacing disagreements in straightforward and respectful ways.”
The Haverford Assembly requires significant student involvement and participation to make progress and succeed. Each student is required to officially declare their party and share their political views.
Aligning with the school motto, the Haverford Assembly “prepares boys for life.”
However, this requirement brings some controversy: opposing political views could stir up conflict, and students might not want to share their political views. But I don’t see these as real problems.
It seems this is the entire purpose of the Haverford Assembly: teaching students to form opinions, properly debate opposing ideas, and learn how the government works. Aligning with the school motto, the Haverford Assembly “prepares boys for life.”
Fifth Former Mason Wiegand is enjoying the program. “I think [the Haverford Assembly] is a good idea. I believe in the importance of involving people in government, even if they don’t entirely want to, just to understand the process. It’s ultimately something that affects everyone in the room,” Wiegand said. “Having uninformed people voting or uninformed people discussing topics is dangerous.”
The Haverford Assembly also provides a nice change-up in the middle of the year. Apart from the fact that it educates us about the government and politics and gives us crucial skills—such as learning how to vote, debate opposing ideas, and form opinions—the program is also a different style of learning that engages us in an unconventional method of learning about politics.
“It’s always nice when a class changes up in the middle of the year. It’s a nice break,” Fifth Former Michael Crutchlow said.
“I think [the Haverford Assembly] is helpful because you understand your government more. It’s important because it gives you skills, especially with the bill writing process, because you get to learn how to pick an issue and try to solve it, which is a really important skill for most jobs,” Crutchlow said.
The Class of 2025 is the first to experience the Haverford Assembly. Since it is the first year, the system will inevitably have flaws, and the school should work to fix these problems. Nevertheless, it is a great way to educate boys on how the government really works, teaching essential life skills and how to manage difficult situations.
