State Rep. John Barrett III explains his role in the state Legislature to students at Government Appreciation Day in Drury on Friday.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Eighth-grade students learned first-hand about civics at the school's first-ever Massachusetts Government Appreciation Day.
“Government is most powerful when each person feels included in the process,” civics teacher Patrick Bolger said before introducing Friday's guest speakers. “Today is the day you have the opportunity to participate in this process and learn from those who have dedicated their lives to serving our government.”
This event is a new addition to the 8th grade civics curriculum to provide students with a deeper understanding of state and local governance before taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System civics exam.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey, former Gov. Jane Swift, State Representative John Barrett III, Councilwoman Jessica Lincourt, and Mayoral Assistant Lindsay Randall all spoke to students in breakout sessions and discussed their role in government. explained the role.
Massey began her presentation by telling her own story, which began as a graduate of Drury High School.
She said her first job in government was a bit unglamorous.
“My first job with the city was right there at the dump,” she said, pointing out the window to where the city dump used to be. “I sold composting bins and did such a good job that I was able to get a part-time job in the civil service department at City Hall.”
Macksey said she moved through several different career paths before becoming director of finance and procurement and then returning to the city as chief financial officer. Eventually, she decided to run for mayor.
She then created a daily schedule, stating that she wanted to be as hands-on as possible. Just Thursday, she heard that school buses were having trouble navigating downtown because of utility construction, so she decided to hitchhike for a ride, she said.
“I got a call from the bus company and a neighbor called me, so I jumped on the next bus that passed by City Hall and went with my kids to school. It was so much fun,” she said. Ta. “But I was able to understand the problem from the bus driver's perspective and I solved it. But sometimes you have to do it. You have to be practical.”
She then spoke about how the Mayor is working with the City Council and various city projects such as the proposed new Greylock School, new public safety building and pothole remediation.She said she is currently working on a budget proposal.
“So, I do a lot of things, but the good thing about my job is that I love building programs and building and running projects,” she said. . “The difficult part of my job is that I need money to do it. So I work on different projects every day. My day is never the same. I never cross things off my to-do list. I start the day feeling happy because I got those two or three things done on that to-do list.”
Swift, a Drury High School graduate and the state's first female governor, focused on state government, particularly funding for education. The students were surprised to learn that school was not actually free.
Swift said the federal government pays about 10% of the education budget. States are taking a different approach, using MCAS as their primary tool for making funding decisions.
“How many of you like MCAS?” she asked, only to be answered by silence. “Okay, I'm going to resign on my own. What do you think? In 1993, when I was 27 years old, I was a state senator in the legislature. Of the six people who did that, who said they didn't like it? ”
Like Massey, she brought her story closer to home, saying she was a good student when she graduated from Drury University and attended a good college with dreams of becoming a sports journalist.
“Do you think they all said, 'Oh my God, you're going to be governor in the future, you're so smart?' No, no,” she said. “….I was planning on majoring in English, but I was very good at English and almost every other kid at that school was a better student than me.”
She said that even at the time, she considered this disparity between schools to be a problem.
“Massachusetts has had unequal spending across districts, which has resulted in unequal quality across the country many times,” she said. “That was one of the things I wanted to change. I wanted to make the school better.”
He said MCAS is a way for states to understand which schools need more funding and identify which areas need a little more help to close the wealth gap, while also providing accountability. He said he asked for it.
She then explained the relationship between the governor and the Legislature, the difference between state and federal law, and pointed out that in Massachusetts, anyone can write a bill for consideration by the government.
Barrett, a longtime former mayor, spoke about the importance of understanding how government works and voting to bring about change and fight injustice.
He told the story of professional basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained for nearly a year in Russia in 2022 after Russian authorities found cannabis oil in her luggage.
“We don't have a government like that in America. We have a democracy. That's why it's so important to learn what we can do to bring about change and prevent it from happening,” he said. said. “The most powerful area where you can do that is at the ballot box.”
He said important changes like federal Title IX (which prohibits sex discrimination in education) and texting and driving laws all came about because citizens came together to demand change.
Barrett said if the state plans to change the driving age from 16 to 18, his door should be the first one students knock on.
“I represent the district, so you're going to want to tell me, 'We're against this,'” he said. “You're all going to get together and say, 'Hey, listen, we're against it.' So how are you going to get my attention? What do I have to do?” Huh? Every two years I have to get elected…and I need your vote someday. ”
Lincourt and Randall did sessions together.
Ms. Lincourt, another Drury University graduate, spoke about some of the careers she had before taking a job as a city assessor. She started as an administrative assistant to an appraiser, but after working in the office alone for 10 months, she applied for the appraiser position.
“I had no idea what I was doing, but I came through strong,” she said. “There's no manual. A lot of times you don't know what you're doing. You have to make mistakes and learn. And you have to learn as you go. It's very scary, but… , At the same time, as time goes on, I am able to do things that I never thought I could do, so it is very rewarding.”
Randall, a McCann Technical School graduate, shared her story and her passion for hospitality and event planning, which is one of her responsibilities in the city. Planning an event isn't as simple as picking a date and hoping for good weather, she said.
“It costs $20,000 to put on a fireworks show, but it's a very well-planned event,” she said. I have to work with the fire department as well as the fire department and get the proper permits. I had no idea how complex these things were. Through the city administration, there are things that must be done in order to hold an event. ”
She asked what students wanted to see at North Adams, and many simply wanted to see more.
Randall said he is related and was part of the Unity Group when he was younger, helping to promote skate park projects.
“We always talked about how there was nothing to do in North Adams…but when I was in high school, I really wanted a skate park,” she said. “Fifteen years later, they actually put a skate park downtown. It started when I was in high school in Unity.”
Groups of students rotated between different classroom speakers.The event took place from 8 a.m. to approximately 10 a.m.
tag: Citizens, Drury High School, MCAS, State Employees;
