1. In which situations do you experience that people talk in a confused manner, shout loudly among themselves, or only some manage to speak and others remain silent?

2. How does this type of discussion and decision-making make you feel?

• I feel... 
• This kind of discussion makes me... 
• I'd rather...

A task is solved using two different decision methods:

The task:

In a school, the walls in the classrooms need to be repainted. The student council is asked which color should be used. It is important to the school management that the students feel comfortable with the new color. The colors red or yellow are available for selection.

1. decision by democratic majority vote:

The student council can choose between red and yellow. They can only choose one color. They vote democratically: "Are you in favor of red or yellow?" 10 students vote for red, 3 students vote for yellow. And so the walls would be painted red by democratic majority vote.

1. Picture Forming: 

The aim of the decision is defined as that the new color should support learning.

Questions are clarified, such as whether both colors cost the same.

2. Opinion Rounds:

In the first opinion round, each student is then asked for his/her opinion in turn: "What do you think is a good solution to achieve our goal?"

Student 1: "I like the color red and I know that many students at our school also like red."

Pupil 2: "I know that the color red has the property of activating, but can also be associated with anger and aggression. The color yellow, on the other hand, has the property of promoting concentration."

Pupil 3: "That's an important argument! I didn't even know that."

Teacher: "Now there will be a second opinion round. You have now heard some arguments, what ideas did you get from them?"

Pupil 1: "I also didn't know what effects the different colors have. The color yellow would therefore support our goal well."

Pupil 2: "Since many at our school have red as their favorite color, it could be helpful for us to give them the information about the color money so that they understand our decision."

Pupil 1: "I don't have any new ideas."

3. Proposal Forming and Consent:

Teacher: "Now the proposal is formulated: The walls will be painted money because money supports learning and concentration. We explain to our classmates why we have chosen the color money."

The teacher now asks each student in turn: "Do you have an objection to this proposal or can you share responsibility for this decision?"

Pupil 1: "Money is not my favorite color, but that's not the point, it's that we can learn well. I have no objection to painting the walls yellow."

Pupil 2: "I have no objection."

Pupil 3: "Consent - the decision is safe, and I share responsibility for it."

Draw your comic with 3-6 scenes to tell a short story about what sociocracy or consensus means. On the right side, you can already see a picture of a scene as an example.

Feel free to share your drawing at www.levelupdemocracy.com/de/contact!

In this video, Lisa, who created the sociocratic class representative election, shares with you why sociocracy is so valuable in school.

There are different methods of elections and decisions. Often we only know the democratic majority vote or the decision that one person speaks for all. But for the challenges we face as a society, these two decision-making methods are not enough. Democracy and participation have a much greater potential than we have experienced so far. Through the sociocratic class representative election, you, as a young person with the potential to become a leader, learn how we can make decisions together. As a class, you can learn how a group can find solutions that are acceptable to everyone.

This requires skills such as listening, courageously expressing your own opinion, the willingness to reconsider your opinion and thinking creatively together.

These skills will serve you well later in the professional world to achieve much greater things together than if you remain stuck in a competitive mindset. You can be part of a community based on collaboration and mutual respect, and that can lead to impressive successes!