Seaburia

The Alchemists have spent the entire year learning about political systems. It began with our November elections, learning about political parties and the issues, and from there they have discussed the pros and cons of different kinds of governments. During this study the class has looked at historical examples of different governments from communism in China, to monarchies in Russia as well as current events in North Korea and Syria.
The culmination of this study is a five paragraph essay that discusses what would be the best government for the United States if we weren't a democracy as well as a simulation called Seaburia.

Initially the students were put in teams of two and given a country which they named. They were then allocated supplies, money and information on their countries economy. Every "turn" in Seaburia students must trade for food and oil to support their country and then produce a product designated by the Power Broker to earn money.

Then countries have to negotiate to solve problems in Seaburia ranging from crop failures and refugees to nuclear disarmament and natural disasters. Using skills they have learned about such as sanctions and treaties, the countries work together to solve each scenario and must come to some kind of solution.

This year we invited back the first class to participate in Seaburia and three of our now HS students came and taught the Alchemists a lot of about the art of negotiation!