Class Reps

What is a student class representative: The student class rep is a student designated with many leadership roles within the classroom. These roles vary from school to school and also country to country. The student is usually voted to the position by the class peers. The concept has been increasing in popularity in universities around the world, including the Australian National University, University of Edinburgh, and many others. It is also a system used in many Japanese high schools (Wilson 2003). Technically it is separate to the student representative council (SRC) used in many schools, including schools in Japan and works more on a class level rather than a whole school level. However, there is nothing stopping a school from integrating the class student representative system into the whole school student representative council system. They two systems are not mutually exclusive and are quite compatible with one another.

What are the (possible) roles of class representatives: 

• Delegation of classroom cleaning duties to fellow class peers (Japan)
• Arranging with the teacher before class what materials will be needed for the upcoming class (Japan)
• Putting forth the views, concerns, comments of the class to the class teacher, the subject head teacher or principal (Australia).
• Attending term/semester meetings with other class representatives and staff members (Australia).

Why I like the idea of having class reps: I like the idea of making it as obvious as possible that the students have a say in their education. I like the idea that students who may be afraid to talk directly to the teacher about a concern might be willing to talk to a fellow student who has the confidence to bring up the concern.

Benefits to the students: The individual class rep gets the opportunity to exhibit and learn leadership skills, this is also a valuable addition to their CV or resume when looking for work or future academic opportunities.

Benefits to the staff and school: When students feel that they have some say in their education they are more likely to be engaged in their learning. Furthermore, some students may be more willing to talk with a fellow student about what they like and dislike about a class rather than the actual teacher, so the student rep can give the teacher valuable information for future reflection on their teaching.
 

---
REFERENCES
Wilson, R. (2003) "Class Representatives: One Way to Capitalize on the Group Mentality of Japanese College Students" CELE Journal, vol  11. Asia University Japan. Retrieved 12 January 2013 from: http://tinyurl.com/crrrwe8 see also http://www.asia-u.ac.jp/cele/cele_celejournal_2003.htm

University of Edinburgh Student's Association (n.d.) "Class Representative Role" University of Edinburgh Student's Association. Retrieved 12 January 2013 from: http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/representation/classreps/info/responsibilities/