I would have never guessed that the first chairman of Westchester County is about to be 100 years old! Did you know this? A couple of weeks ago my class went on a field trip to the board of legislators and thats where I learned all these fun facts! I learned so much facts from this trip from big to small. I knew from the begigining this trip would be full of surprises… So, get ready to read about them!
During this trip we had many new experiences that I really enjoyed. Some of these experiences were meeting our legislator so he could tell us about what it is like to be a legislator, going to the chamber room to do a mock vote on a fake law, and entering the conference room to discuss another fake law. While we were meeting the legislator he told us about his job, the process to become a legislator, and lots more. He introduced himself as Benjamin Boykin II and even called us legislators! Our class was very lucky because he wasn’t supposed to be at the board of legislators, but for some reason he was there so we got to meet him. He told us lots of interesting facts and I was thinking, how come I didn’t know that? Additionally, we got to go to the chamber room and take a photo with him! Speaking of the chamber room, we all got to go into it and we all got a job. There were four jobs. The clerks, the legislators, the public speaker, and the chairman. I was one of the clerks. I got to do roll call and discuss a law. Furthermore, I got to speak into the microphone. I was thinking, when do I get to speak into the microphone, when do I get to speak into the microphone? But, when they finally turned it on it was so cool to hear my voice loud and clear. At the end we also got to bang the gavel and say, “this meeting is now adjourned.” It felt like I had so much power! At the end I was fooling around and saying it with an accent. I was like, “ Theese meetin’ eez now adorned.” It was so funny! Next, we went to the conference room. While we were in the conference room they split us up into two groups. As a result, each table had a chairman/woman but I wasn’t one of them. The chairman/woman lead the meeting, discussing another fake law. I got the table with the chairs that turn. I was thinking, I am glad I got the chairs that turn! At the end of our fake meeting at the conference room they passed out lifesavers, they were very yummy! While going from one room to another, we passed a lot of offices. I thought it was pretty cool to look into the offices. One even had a treadmill! When we left, we each received a certificate and a pin with a golden apple because, well, Westchester is the golden apple. Right now as I am writing this, I am wondering, why gold? Why not blue, yellow, or green? Anyway, this trip was so fun and I enjoyed every part of it.
On this trip I got the experience to learn a lot on the legislative branch. Sure, I learned a lot in school but, I got to experience learning from the legislator that represents district five and a lot of Westchester County and learn about how it feels to be a lestislator. When he told us there were about 1.3 million people in westchester and 20,000 people in Scarsdale, I couldn’t help it but let my mouth drop wide open. I couldn’t believe it! In addition, I learned [as I said in my introduction] the first chairman of Westchester County is about to be 100 years old! Benjamin Boykin II showed us a picture of him. I thought to myself, Um, isn’t that kind of old. I wonder what it was like back then. Did you know that there is 17 representatives of Westchester County? As a result I was honestly surprised by this number and I thought there would be less. I learned so much from this trip and I hope to learn lots more interesting facts.
To summarize, this field trip was awesome. I had an amazing time. From the first second I walked into that building I knew this trip would be better than I thought. So, come one, come all, to the amazing [drumroll please] Board Of Legislators!
