While the urge to action may be strong, you must be prepared for some trials and tribulations along the way.

It's not all plain sailing:

The story of the SRC at Bialik College in Melbourne is one that shows some of the typical problems that can occur in trying to get a Student Council going that will undertake some positive actions within the school.

Bialik College:

For some time, the administration of Bialik College in Melbourne had tried to encourage students into forming a Student Council (SC) The administration had hoped to get a student council underway as a means of getting new initiatives established. This would include student media (newspapers and radio), organising social work for students as well as acting as body to hear student grievances and have them resolved.

Great Intentions:

The first purpose was always more important than the second. This seemed like an awesome task but it was finally taken on by a group of Year and 11 and 12 students.

Initially there was some resistance to the idea. Many students fear the idea of the development of elitist positions such as prefects and thought this process would be the same. Finally elections were held and a group of 24 elected students came together to form the first student council.

Initial Enthusiasm:

The first few meetings had a great, positive vibe with high attendance and enthusiasm. Often the enthusiasm was so high that meetings struggled to function successfully. Students would talk over each other and very little constructive was achieved. The was probably due to the lack of experience member had in participating in formal meetings, the lack of authority of the chair students were reluctant to bring up issues themselves, too much reliance on organisers to stimulate ideas.

As a result, there was a lot of talk but not much action. This led to a cycle where students lost interest and stopped coming to meetings. The fact that students were not coming to meetings then meant that there was a lack of action - and so it continued.