 |
North
Carolina state senator Tamara Barringer visited Apex High School on Friday,
speaking to Denise Wilkie’s AP Government and Politics class about a day in the
life of a politician.
Barringer
teaches business and law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
where she employs the Socratic method in all of her classes. “Every class is
different and it’s all student run,” she said about the method.
Barringer
described the life of a senator as very hectic. When in session, the senate
meets on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 6:45 A.M. to 9 in the evening
and on Thursday mornings. On top of that, Barringer says, “I have eleven
committee meetings per week, see 147 lobbyists, and receive 1,000 phone calls
every week and 300-500 emails per day.” The senate’s session lasts from late
January to mid-July. Although life in a civilian legislature is a busy one,
Barringer sees it as necessary and closer to the people. “That’s the problem
with [Washington] D.C., it’s a full time job for them. They only come back to
the real world to cut ribbons.”
In
office, Barringer advocates foster care reform strongly. “There are over 25,000
children in foster care right now, and the way that the law is set up isn’t in
the child’s best interest,” she said, “and at 18, foster children are left on
their own.” She also went on to say that one of her main goals was to look for
transition programs for foster children, citing similar laws already put into place
by California and Florida as examples. Another issue that Barringer is
passionate about is education. As a former PTA president for ten years, she
says, “I’m very disappointed in where we are in education. Sometimes I feel
like I’m just yelling at the wind.”
In
terms of the rewards of the job, Barringer described it as very enriching.
“It’s about true service… If you want to make a difference in people’s lives,
this is the place to do it.”
