Michael's Day at the Capitol

Michael was chosen as the one representative from the four, fourth grade classes at Uintah Elementary School to visit the Utah Capitol Building and meet with Representative Brad Dee, our district's Representative in the State House of Representatives, and also the Majority Leader. My mom and Jed met us at the Utah State Capitol Building to take Sarah and Lucy to Temple Square while I took Michael into the Capitol. I'm so glad they could watch the little girls because it would have been much less ideal with them there. 

Representative Brad Dee and Michael are in the middle of the back row on the floor of the House of Representatives.

I thought this would be a fun experience for Michael, but it was far better than I had anticipated. One of Rep. Dee's interns, Jashon Bishop, took us on a thorough tour of the Capitol Building. Jashon's dad is a U.S. Congressman, and we had a fun conversation while Michael was down on the House Floor. Brad Dee spent about an hour with Michael, teaching him all about the long process of a bill becoming a law, and how many bills don't make it through the entire process, or are not voted into law, or are even vetoed in the end (like the controversial bill that would eliminate the need for concealed weapons permits in Utah that was approved by the House while we were there and later vetoed by Governor Herbert :). I was very impressed with Brad Dee. I could tell he really believed in this project to invite one fourth grader from every elementary school in his district to spend an afternoon with him. He easily could have shaken Michael's hand, taken a picture with him, and pawned him off on an intern, but he was sincerely interested in helping Michael understand how his state government works. He was a very busy man, and the Utah State Congress is only in session for 45 days. I could tell he was very impressed with Michael, who absorbed everything he said and understood it all. He kept glancing over to me and saying quietly, "This is a really bright boy you have. Not all of the students understand this process like he does." I am very grateful Michael got to have this experience. We went to Whole Foods for some lunch with Mom and Jed afterward. I was four weeks pregnant (unbeknownst to my poor, unsuspecting family), so this was one of my last couple of days of health since I get sick so early. 

Michael's assignment was an essay, due one week after his visit to the Capitol. It was a contest with winners receiving a check to buy school supplies for their classroom. Michael was nervous about writing his first essay, but he did a great job. And he did it all by himself. He cranked out a first draft the same day of his visit, then wrote a final draft a few days later. He edited it himself, and it was fun to see how capable he was of reading through his draft and sensing when something was awkward and needed revising. I was really sick already and didn't help him at all. He received 3rd place, and this week Representative Brad Dee and his wife visited Michael's school to present him with a check for $300 for his classroom. (It's not tax payers' money--I assume it comes from the Dee Family Foundation.) Michael was very pleased to receive money for his classroom. His teacher probably has her own ideas about the money, but Michael's first plan is to buy lots and lots of high-quality pencils. He likes Ticonderoga best because they sharpen so nicely. Since Utah schools can only suggest donations of school supplies instead of require that children bring pencils and scissors, etc., there is a huge lack of basic supplies, and teachers often spend their own money buying pencils. It really tickles me that Michael understands what a major stumbling block it is to not have enough of something as fundamental as pencils. Other students were wanting pizza parties and ice cream parties, and as much as Michael enjoys those, he would never waste the money that way. My mom happened to be visiting us (and helping me with my piles of laundry) when Brad Dee visited, so she got to be at the school when he received his reward. Then we stopped at the School Book Fair for a few minutes. A great experience for Michael, and I sincerely appreciate everyone who made it happen.