PUTNEY — I love Bernie Sanders. I love his passion, his message of concern for the middle class and women, his voice expressing our need for health care and education, for living wages, and for compassion.
I have experienced, firsthand, his thoughtfulness.
In 2002, I took my eighth graders to Washington, D.C. for a week. We visited the Hirshhorn Museum and Ford's Theatre, the Air and Space Museum and the Library of Congress, monuments and Arlington National Cemetery, and, of course, the Capitol.
In the fall, I had contacted the office of Bernie Sanders, then Vermont's U.S. representative, to ask if we could meet, have a photo op, and speak with him.
On previous trips, Senators Jeffords and Leahy had greeted my classes on the Capitol steps, answered a few questions, posed for an official photograph, and waved goodbye as they headed back inside.
That year, an intern told us to come to Bernie's office in the Rayburn House Office Building, as he would meet us there.
* * *
We arrived with time to spare, but it was quickly eaten up by post 9/11 security - something I had not had to deal with before. We hurried up the stairs, along the granite hallways and found, after a bit of a search, the Vermont state flag and a small plaque that read “Bernie Sanders.”
We caught our breath, as we entered a homey, Vermont-themed office, with pictures of cows and maple trees in full foliage on the walls. The class was crowding behind me as I greeted the receptionist and explained who we were.
She was expecting us, but rather than ask us to wait, she opened a side door and took us into a conference room with a large oval table and at least 16 chairs.
As we were settling in, Bernie Sanders arrived, white hair standing on end and a tie knotted crookedly at his throat.
As I introduced myself and shook his hand, he turned to the students. He never looked back. He focused on the eighth graders and their prepared questions, answering them seriously and with regard for their focus.
He then said he wanted to ask them questions. And he did.
He asked what they considered to be the most pressing issues the government should address.
He asked them their opinions of the the patriot Act and 9/11.
He asked them about education and what classes and technology they thought they would need as the country moved into the 21st century.
It was obvious that Bernie Sanders valued their responses. He sat, listening with care and responding in the most considerate way.
I sat back, relieved that this was a particularly articulate, savvy class, politically and socially. The students were holding their own, and Bernie made us feel as if he had all the time in the world.
After almost 40 minutes, an aide came rushing into the room and said he was needed for a vote.
But Bernie wasn't done with my students.
He turned back to the class and asked, “Why are you here?”
He was met with silence, so he repeated the question: “Why are you here, in this room, talking to me?”
One of my girls said, hesitatingly, “Because we are studying government?”
A pause, and another hazarded the guess, “Because you are in the House of Representatives from the state of Vermont.”
Bernie looked from student to student. A boy suggested we were there because we spent a lot of time discussing current events.
Then, he said, “There are many, many students out there, walking up and down the Mall, maybe taking a tour of the Capitol, but not coming in to talk to me or other representatives. You are here, in my office, because your teacher brought you here.”
“You need to thank her,” he said, and, looking at me, he added, “and I thank her.”
He nodded, and, before I could respond, he was gone - off to cast a vote on the house floor.
* * *
Bernie Sanders treated my young students thoughtfully, and it was obvious to them and to me that he valued what they had to say. He respected them and their opinions, and, quite unexpectedly, he had honored me.
I shouldn't have been surprised.
Knowing what I know about him now, I realize this is genuine Bernie.