By Alyssa McMillan
In May, most of the Schoolcraft’s eighth-grade students and a handful of teachers traveled to Lansing on a field trip to the Michigan State Capitol at the invitation of State Representative Matt Hall.
“They not only welcomed our trip, but they invited us to go through a committee simulation,” said eighth-grade social studies teacher Karl Schook. “It was their idea to do this committee simulation where they would have our students break into groups, go to the actual committee rooms where the Michigan House of Representatives sit down and debate bills, and our students were to debate and vote on actual proposed bills that are being voted on.”
The mock committees covered six draft bills currently being debated by representatives in the state House. “It ranged from everything from the abolishment of daylight savings in the state of Michigan to the speed limit of bicycles on Mackinac Island to providing emergency medical transportation systems to retired police dogs,” explained Schook – “actual bills that are being debated in our government right now.”
Schook said Rep. Hall and his staff “rolled out the red carpet for our students.” In addition to the invitation to participate in mock committee sessions, the eighth graders were treated to a catered breakfast and tours of the Capitol and Hall’s offices.
There was something for all students at the building, from the excitement of the debates to the magnificence of the building’s architecture. “They really enjoyed being in the Capitol building, really enjoyed that feeling of being taken seriously by serious and respected political leaders and they appreciated being able to experience Michigan government in a way that made the study of our system of government more [relatable],” said Schook. “The only criticism I received is that they wished they could have stayed longer.”
The trip was more than exciting; it changed how the kids at Schoolcraft view their government. Said eighth grader Jamaica Gray: “I used to think, ‘maybe they just sit around all the time writing on papers,’ but the Capitol Building is actually really big and there are many different offices for many different things.”
Students on the trip may also have been encouraged to explore another potential career path. “Now that I know the things that they do, that they vote on, what I can do in politics, it’s giving me a sense of what I can do in the future and how it can help me change perspective for certain things,” Gray said. “I think I’d consider going into [politics] at some point.”
