Tonight (it's Tuesday evening) I'm in Emporia, after spending the past three days in Topeka, doing KTOY activities. I've been in Topeka since Sunday morning, training with the rest of the KTOY team, getting ready for today. We all got to stay in ghte Capitol Plaza Hotel, which was swanky and beautiful.
Sunday we met with 3 principals from around the state and then with Commissioner Dale Dennis to talk about current issues in education. Then our team, along with Sherry and Kathy, went out for dinner at Paisano's Ristorante - and I had the most amazing salmon with cheese tortellini in a cream sauce - wow!
Monday we started bright & early, meeting with Dr. DeBacker and Deputy Neuenswander, and then with 2 superintendents. We got some more input about the current issues in education, as well as some prep for what types of questions the legislators might have for us. We spent the afternoons on both days practicing our speeches for the legislators, with feedback from the group on making our speeches as compelling and fluid as possible, while staying within our 2-minute limit! Monday night our group chose to go to The Blind Tiger for dinner, which was a really fun atmosphere. It's a microbrewery & restaurant in an interesting old building. The inside has 3 levels of seating areas, as well as big metal tanks for brewing. They also brew their own root beer. I almost bought Lauren a big jug of root beer as a souvenir! I had chicken & noodles over mashed potatoes for dinner; my friends said that the chicken and BBQ and homemade potato chips were delicious!
Today we headed for the Docking Building, across from the Capitol. The Capitol Building is undergoing renovations, and so the House of Representatives is meeting in the Docking Building for now. We met with the House of Representatives Education Committee in a meeting room. There were about 15 representatives present, and they were polite and attentive. After we each gave our speeches, they spent about an hour or so asking us questions about education, the budget, assessments, passing/failing students, raising scores, the time and money that teacher spend in the classrooms, and what advice we have for legislators.
It was interesting to spend some time visiting with the representatives after the session was over. I'll definitely be more compelled to write/email my representatives - these people were truly interested in hearing what we have to say and in making responsible choices. The head of the committee was taken with the fact that I call my class "kiddos". :) I enjoyed speaking with Representative Loganbill, who is also a Bethel grad, and another representative who is also a Vera Bradley fan (we compared purses!).
After meeting with the House Representatives, Sherry and Kathy took us for lunch at the Celtic Fox, near the Capitol Building. It is a pub with AMAZING food! I had an Irish chicken stew and a roast beef & cheddar sandwich. Much of the food and all of the decor had an Irish theme - bagpipes on the wall, enormous "pints" hanging from the ceiling, etc.
After lunch, we headed to the Capitol Building. We had some time before our first appointment, so we did some walking around, taking photos, buying souvenirs, etc. We all got postcards for our classes. Then we took turns sitting in Governor Brownback's chair behind his desk and taking our photos (he wasn't in his office today!) :)
We met with the Senate Education Committee next, in a meeting room. This was a smaller committee than in the morning. They were very positive and involved. Senator Shodorf was our sponsor for the day, and she was very encouraging and supportive. They asked great questions for us, mostly regarding the same topics as in the House.
Then they walked us to the Senate chamber for the 2:30 - 3:30 session. It was the most beautiful room! I've never seen a Senate meeting before and the process was very interesting to me - the wooden gavel that is banged after every decision, the repetitive calling of roll for voting, the pages, the Senators' freedom of movement/talking during the session - very interesting. They passed a resolution honoring our team and each of us by name.
After that, we stayed until the end of their session and then visited with the few senators that hung around. Some of our team's senators came over to congratulate them and/or take photos together, etc.
Then we piled back into the van and headed for the hotel. Most people headed home, and a couple stayed at the Plaza. I headed for Emporia. I'm thinking now that perhaps I should have stayed at the Plaza - my room there was pretty luxurious, and this one seems shabby by contrast. However, this way I don't have far to drive in the morning, which is a blessing for me!
Carla
