My Kind of Wednesday Night, Out on the Town

Korrin B.

February 5, 2009 - 8:00 AM

I am on a quest to find things that are real. Lately I've felt as though I go through my days and rarely find things that have a true feeling of realness to them. Sometimes people sugar coat things. Other times people hide behind alcohol and "getting wasted." I try to go new places, join different groups, and talk to new people, but out of so many experiences, I find so few honest connections. So where is the true passion? Where can I find something that has a feeling of meaning to it? I want to experience something authentic, something genuine, something real. Where do these qualities exist? I'm kind of a "nerd" sometimes. I go to the Eugene 4J School District board meetings for fun and a good time on Wednesday nights.

Many think of the term "board meeting" and automatically think of the most boring experience that they could possibly go through in a lifetime. However, I just don't find the 4J school board meetings to be this way. In fact, I enjoy them quite a bit for the simple fact that they protrude a sense of realness. School board meetings have a sense of community to them. They go forth with action to make change. They are composed of real people with real concerns working toward making a real difference for amazing children who hold the real potential for our future.

At the last school board meeting I went to, the meeting began with children from local elementary and middle schools reading their award winning writings on Martin Luther King, Jr. I listened to a middle school boy read an amazingly inspirational, well-written prose about laying stones in the path toward change. I felt so connected to the Eugene community, watching its youth verbalize such profound wisdom.

The middle chunk of the meeting consisted of business matters, many concerning the upcoming budget cuts and how they are going to be dealt with. I loved watching the process of this and seeing concerned citizens and parents come up to the front to voice their opinions. Change is made by those who show up. During times like these where sacrifices have to be made, it is imperative for the community to let its voice be heard in the decision-making process. I was so intrigued by all of this that I started to consider going to the budget committee meeting next week.

The final portion of the meeting was amazing. It made the meeting go a bit long, but the passion and fire behind it was worth it. Harris Elementary School and Eastside Elementary School have been collaborating now for a while. They have begun mingling students from both of the schools together and have benefited from sharing the different academic programs and extracurricular activities offered at both schools. They have come up with the idea of finally just merging the two schools together. There was an overwhelming amount of support turned out to support this idea at the school board meeting. They put on an amazing presentation about their hopes. Parents, teachers, and other staff members spoke about it in the most enthusiastic voices. Members of the audience were wearing shirts saying things like "Harris and Eastside Working Together" on them. They were such an inspirational, proactive group of people and I couldn't help but smile, watching them rally for something they believed was best for the children and the community.

Some people may think that it's a waste to send two or more hours on a weeknight watching a school board meeting. However, I encourage more people to go. Be a part of something real. Go see a real process put on by genuine people concerned about the well being of our community's children. Support K-12 education. I will be attending the Stand for Children President's Day Rally in Salem on February 16 to stand as one of the many who support children's education. I encourage everyone to go. For more information, you can visit this website:http://www.stand.org/Page.aspx?pid=276. When budget cuts are being made, it shouldn't be at the expense of education.