THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: By JUDITH G. JONES
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Del. Bob Purkey from the 82nd District (Virginia Beach) deserves a special thank you for creating an educational program called ``Teach the Teachers.'' He invites selected teachers or education administrators to travel to Richmond to work on his staff at the General Assembly. These educators literally become part of the legislative process in order to gain firsthand knowledge of how the legislature works. It is one thing to read about the legislative process. It is quite another to be involved in it.
I never understood how much time and energy our elected officials are expected to put in daily. Their mornings begin as early as 6:30 and often end near midnight when the last committee of the day has heard the last testimony or has debated the last bill. The pace is hectic. Meals are an afterthought. Rest is elusive.
I never understood how the General Assembly really worked or how the bills move through the various standing committees to become laws. Like everyone else, I studied the process in school and had even been to the House of Delegates and Senate, but never for any length of time. When at the General Assembly for a few consecutive days, one can literally see the bills move from the committee level to the House or Senate floor for their second and third readings. It begins to make sense and flow logically.
I never understood how our representatives truly do listen to their constituents and often struggle with many of the decisions they must make in order to fairly represent the districts that send them to Richmond in the first place. In the past, I would be too quick to criticize decisions my representatives made without realizing the volumes of information they had read and testimony they had heard before they came to the conclusion to vote a certain way.
I never understood when reading an article in the paper that so much takes place behind the scenes before a vote is cast to pass or kill a bill. Each bill has voters and lobbyists on both sides of the issue who feel passionately about its outcome. Our elected officials must listen to them all.
I never understood how the press had to put in days as long as the delegates, following bills from committee to committee in order to properly cover a story for readers. Now those articles in the paper seem to have more relevance.
I never understood how easily one could recognize representatives who were in it for self-serving purposes. Unfortunately, one can spot them almost immediately.
I never understood how much comic relief can be found on the House floor. The whistles, the jokes, the laughter, the camaraderie, the rowdiness from all makes the process bearable during times of great stress.
I never understood how much I would cherish the opportunity to witness all of this firsthand and come away with a clearer understanding and respect for the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World.
Now I understand, thanks to the ingenuity and foresight of Del. Bob Purkey. Any teachers or school administrators in Hampton Roads who are interested in gaining firsthand knowledge of the General Assembly should contact their representative and ask to be involved in a similar program. MEMO: Ms. Jones is director of development and communications at Cape Henry
Collegiate School in Virginia Beach.
by CNB