an event (fwd)

Chuck Biehl (cbiehl@online1.magnus1.com)
Fri, 4 Oct 1996 05:45:17 -0400 (EDT)


I just had to post to everyone to report yesterday's news. In addition to
it being my birthday (another palindromatic one, too, darn it) I had a
special visitor to my AP Statistics class... Hillary Clinton! She was in
town to do some campaigning for Mr. Clinton and also to talk about the
Charter School biill that's just out. Part of the visit to Delaware was to
visit the Charter School of Wilmington and I was picked to be THE teacher
to spend time with. The Secret Service was all over the place since
Monday, then yesterday she arrived at the school around 11:00. She, along
with the governor (a regular visitor to my class, it seems) came in at
arounf 11:15 and stayed for about 10 minutes. We were introduced by the
governor and spoke together for a bit at the front of the room. She asked
questions about the course, the kids, the TI-83's we were using, and the
nature of the school. Shentried to get the kids to talk about their
experiences and feelings, but they were tooawe-struck for the most part.
After all, it was just the 15 of them, me, the governor, and the First
Lady, along with a couple of photographers. Anyone who spoke got their
picture taken. Someone had told Mrs. Clinton that although I had met her
husband, there had been some difficulty in getting a photograph of the
meeting, so she wanted to make sure I got a good one of her visit. She
made me pose with the governor and her for the official photographer, even
though I was told that there would be no formal photo ops.
I was really taken with her presence as well as her personable
nature. It was a great experience and lots of pictures were taken (we had
some disposable cameras which the Secret Service permitted the students to
have.) After she left my class, we were escorted to the gym for a "rally"
with speeches from the mayor, the governor, and the First Lady. It really
blew the day as far as classroom instruction goes, but in terms of an
experience, it was definitely worth it for the kids, and I was certainly
impressed. She even wished me a happy birthday!

Take care.