State Capitol

Well, I'd say today was a success!

This morning started a little crazy for me... I got to school and realized I forgot my sack lunch! So I raced back home (after writing a note on the board so my students wouldn't worry), and retrieved it.  Yes, I got a lot of ribbing about that.  Before I originally left for school, I kept telling myself, "don't forget your lunch, don't forget your lunch!" And what do I do? Forget my lunch.

Right before I walked out the door, I decided on a last minute wardrobe change (maybe that's why I forgot my lunch). I had been wearing flats with my dress, but thought it didn't look as 'grownup' as boots would. So I quickly changed into my boots, but they have a heel and I wasn't sure how much they'd hurt my feet after a whole day of tromping around the capitol.  Answer: tolerable.  My feet are a bit sore, but not too bad.

We got to the capitol a bit early, which was fine since we parked a block away and walked to the building.  There was enough time for us to eat a snack, since most everyone was starving (a usual occurrence on field trips). I am so thankful for the parents on the trip! Two of them thought it would be good to bring bars/oranges/water along, so we had plenty of snacks to give our hungry troop.

In total, there were 21 students (one kid stayed home sick) and 14 adults, including Mr. E, myself, and the parent who'd done all the planning.  The Ways and Means Committee hearing was... boring and interesting at the same time. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out what they were even discussing (something to do with health care). They use so much jargon! And if I was lost, imagine how lost the kiddos were!  We left the meeting early and used the time to go over what we observed (but put in 'kid' terms).  Then we ate lunch, met with our representatives, heard about the High School Page program, and met with another representative.  Finally it was time to tour the capitol.

Unfortunately, our tour guide was not the greatest.  He didn't tell very many facts and he walked fast and started talking before the whole group had amassed. There was a group lobbying in the rotunda area; they were quite loud. So maybe they had something to do with the not-so-great tour? It was hard to hear when we were in that area.  Or maybe he was simply out of practice since they stopped giving tours due to the renovations.  They were mostly finished, though some paintings were still being retouched. Governor Dayton hasn't moved back into his capitol office yet.  We weren't allowed to go up to the gold horse area either (I think that was because it was closed for the winter with the snow/ice).

Sitting in on Session was very interesting. We saw one bill being voted approved. Lots of announcements were made, and Rep. Johnson introduced our school to the whole Session.  That was pretty cool.  In total, Session only lasted about a half an hour.  I kind of wish it would've been longer; they go at such a fast pace, it took a bit to figure out (although not as much as the Ways/Means).  It's definitely sparked my interest in government, and hopefully did the same for some of my students!