Thursday, July 2nd

We started the day with our second Minnesota caucus meeting of the NEA Representative Assembly. At the beginning of the meeting our group was recognized for the work we did during the Outreach to Teach at Balboa Elementary School. Winona State was also recognized for their work that they completed in their own Outreach to Teach at the local level. Abby Karth, who participated in the Winona State Outreach to Teach, encouraged everyone in the room to participate in a project such as Outreach at their own local schools. This project is such an important part of a child's education. Children should be excited about going to their school every day to learn and meet new people, and with all of our helping hands this can be made possible.

The rest of the meeting was mostly spent on voting on the amendments to the standing rules. I learned that the standing rules are what govern how things are run at the RA. Some of these included the correct process to speak, how to introduce new business items and how to propose a motion. These rules are very important for the process of the RA to run smoothly.

After the meeting was finished we had the rest of the day free, before the RA starts tomorrow morning. A group of us decided to spend the day at Sea World to learn about and see the fascinating animals of the sea. As we walked around the park, it was fun to see all of the children's faces light up as they got to hold a sea star or walk underneath the shark tank or even pet the sting rays. As a student teacher I am able to see the value and importance of field trips such as these. It is crucial for children to see and connect what they are learning in the classroom to the people, places and things around us.