Senatorial quiz, via webcam
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Barre City Elementary and Middle School 6th-grader Lilly Clark asks a question of Sen. Patrick Leahy via a live Web cam link Thursday between the Barre school and Leahy's Washington office. Sixth graders from Sue Connelly's and Jody Leone's classes were able to ask the senator questions on a variety of topics. Stefan Hard/Times Argus |
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By David Delcore TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: February 5, 2010
BARRE – Who says you can't be in two places at once?
Sen. Patrick Leahy was on Thursday and so were nearly 40 sixth-graders at Barre City Elementary and Middle School.
Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, Vermont's senior senator had the opportunity to play are you smarter than a 6th-grader during a noontime break in the nation's capital. He passed with flying colors.
Of course it wasn't a particularly tough test for Leahy, whose familiar face was beamed into Susan Connolly's classroom on one of the school's 97-inch interactive "white boards." He was the subject of most of the questions and while the electronic give-and-take had the appearance of a pop quiz, it really wasn't.
Leahy's staff requested and received advance copies of the questions he was asked – and some that he wasn't – during a 30-minute session that allowed the senator to visit Connolly's classroom while giving her students a live peek at Washington D.C.
It was "pretty cool" in the estimation of one Ryan Eastman, who said he wasn't bothered a bit by the fact that Leahy didn't directly answer his question: How much gold is in the golden dome of the Statehouse?
Leahy did readily rattle off the dimensions of the dome, showing his staff had done their homework, and Eastman said he was pretty sure he had the skills to take it from there.
"I feel like he (Leahy) gave me a really good math problem," said Eastman, who sheepishly confessed he didn't even know who Leahy was before last week.
"That's the first time I heard of him," he said.
Eastman and his classmates received a crash course on Leahy during their virtual meeting on Thursday as one after another they stepped to the podium to ask him questions.
Due to time constraints, Courtney Craig never got to ask her question: "What was your childhood like?" However, Craig probably had a pretty good idea about Leahy's early years after listening to the senator discuss everything from his father's Barre roots to his own love of Batman.
A lifelong Vermonter, Leahy grew up across the street from the Statehouse in Montpelier, was the product of "pretty strict" parents, has been a card-carrying member of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library since he was four, attended his first Red Sox game when he was six and wasn't always a model student.
That last revelation came in response to a question from Jared Blakely.
"Were you a good kid in school?" Blakely asked.
"Don't tell anybody, but there were a couple of times I misbehaved," Leahy whispered.
The response drew a round of giggles, but Leahy's lone applause line came when Gwen Mugford asked him to name his favorite football team.
"Patriots," he said.
However, despite some prodding from Trevor Bell, Leahy refused to predict the outcome of this Sunday's Super Bowl.
"I'm not even going to guess," he said. "I think I'm just going to wait and watch."
Leahy, who was asked everything from his inspiration for running for the U.S. Senate to whether his values changed once he was elected, patiently answered questions during a session Connolly has been trying to arrange since October.
However, Connolly said Leahy is a busy man and it wasn't until late last month that she learned he could meet with the students she co-teaches with Jody Leone.
According to Connolly, the session required students to do some research on Leahy, compose questions in advance and address the senator face-to-face.
Chloe McNeil said she appreciated the opportunity to quiz Leahy during his virtual visit.
"It's cool how we can incorporate modern stuff into the way we learn," she said.
With all due respect to Leahy, McNeil was referring to the interactive screen Leahy appeared on – one of several now in use at the school.
david.delcore@timesargus.com
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