Keeping It Real with the Governor

My governor is so cool. That's all I have to say.

No, wait. My students are so cool too. Here's the story.

Governor Steve Bullock owed me a favor. Well, he didn't really owe me a favor but if the Governor tells you he owes you a favor, who are you to say he's wrong? So I let him make things right by spending 90 minutes with my class today.

First we took a tour of the Capitol led by a Montana Historical Society tour guide. She showed us much of the artwork in the building and provided historical facts. For example, I love the fact that our capitol building was the first in the nation to have electricity, plumbing, telephones and so on built into the structure rather than being retrofitted.

Next we were ushered into the Governor's meeting room where we taught him how to participate in a Socratic circle. He was interested in the students' ideas regarding college completion, early childhood education, and dropout prevention. He drew them in, and they responded. They asked him questions too.

After 10-15 minutes, we headed into the Governor's inner office to watch our videos on the same education topics: college completion, early childhood education, and dropout prevention. There is a secret door from the meeting room into this office. This office, as you can see, is where I left the feather.

After a group photo we hoofed it to the Governor's residence a few blocks away. The Governor led the way, stopping traffic and opening doors. We enjoyed pizza and pop and brownies and chat about himself and ourselves. Then he begged Eula to play a tune on the piano. Then he had another appointment so we all moved out, but not before students got some selfies with him! Here's the Missoulian article describing the whole day.

Arlee students absolutely REPRESENTED today! They were knowledgeable, mature, polite, respectful, engaging, and they clean up very nicely.

Just another day on the Warrior Trail.