School Observation

I traveled to the government center in toledo to attend a meeting with a small group of government students. Along the way, we got lost but eventually found the tall white building that one of our friends described to us as the government center. I found a parking spot and paid the parking meter. We walked the rest of the way in the unpredicted humid May weather. The building was refreshingly cool; the inside was presented in a sophisticated manner. I could not help but feel out of place in my messy school uniform while men and women dressed in clothing that reminded me of a funeral. The council meeting room had wooden like walls and chairs facing the places where the council members would take their place. Our first mission was to acquire a signature from one of the members. Awkwardly, me and my fellow students stumbled about the room timidly looking for a member who would sign our notepads. There was a lady kind enough to approach us and start up a conversation. We explained that we were from St. Ursula here for an American Government assignment. She was very nice and asked for each of our names, I doubt she had remembered them, but it gave me comfort that she took interest in our quest for a signature. She signed our papers and notepads and wished us well in our assignments. After, we took seats near the back to give us easy access to the door so we might not disturb the other people attending the meeting when we completed our required time limit for our assignment. The meeting started with a role call. The meeting then went on to introduce the Cultural Exchange Service. Exchange students were given thanks for coming to our country. The council members gave their admiration for them and their hard work and bravery. Councilwoman Lindsay M. Webb said, “It is our responsibility to lift up the next generation”. The council members went on to stress the importance the went on to the next thing. After, a St. Johns student was given an award as the selected winner of the Girls and Boys club in all of Ohio. The members gave their congratulations and recognized his accomplishments. Pictures were taken and the members continued the meeting with their repetitive way of addressing ordinances. At this point in the meeting I had eaten apple slices and a granola bar. While I ate, I listened to the repetitiveness of the the the council members addressed the issues of the city. Their method was fast moving and efficient. They mainly reviewed and addressed common city problems. When a new issue was brought up they would say, Emergency, the names of the council members, passage, and answer from the members (usually yes), then ordinance passed. One ordinance that had some concerns was number 197. Councilman Rob Lunderman stressed that there could be a less cumbersome method to bundle with three pieces of legislation. I am not sure of the affiliation the ordinance and three pieces of legislation have with each other, but it seemed to be a grave concern with this member. The ordinance did end up getting passed with the acquired number of votes from the members. After what had been about two hours, the meeting seemed to drag. In the beginning of the meeting, I had no idea as to what was happening seeing as it was my first meeting. I was confused why the the ordinances were addressed the way they were and why there was not an in depth discussion of each issue. I was not expecting the step by step process. After me and my classmates required amount of time was reached, we left and grabbed a formal agenda packet and a summery sheet. After looking them over, I noticed that the items addressed had something mainly in common. They all had something to due with a financial issue. Whether to give the project this much money or whether to fund this organization their desired amount …show more content…
Witnessing it first hand helped me understand what is going on in our local government. This assignment furthered my knowledge that I had been taught in class. Thank you for the opportunity to take hold of knowledge I was previously unaware of and widening my point of view of Ohio