Yesterday, Premier Dr. Ewart F. Brown visited a Berkeley Institute classroom where he participated in the lesson plan of a class called “Citizenship”.

The Premier promised to visit the class after the Citizenship students attended the Throne Speech earlier in the month. The most recent Throne Speech was focused largely on young people.

“I really enjoy dialoguing with our young people,” Premier Brown said. “I want to close the gap between young adults and Government. Classes like this Citizenship course will certainly help.

“I could tell the students had listened to the Throne Speech and read it too. They were ready to talk about Government initiatives at a very sophisticated level.”

The current term is the first term the Citizenship class has been offered in the public education system. It covers a wide range of topics but focuses on human rights, the Constitution, the Legislature and the Judiciary. It’s designed to teach the principles of responsible citizenship in a targeted manner using open discussion, according to teacher Owen Darrell.

Mr. Darrell said: “My class was so excited that the Premier took time out of his busy schedule to come into our classroom.

“We have been talking about citizens having a voice in how their island is governed by contacting local MP’s and raising various issues and concerns. The fact that the Leader of the Government was able to enter our class and have a face to face discussion really reinforced what I have been teaching them in this class. Hopefully this visit will encourage our students to become even more active and responsible citizens.”