When Alabama fourth graders study state history, it’s not uncommon for classes to take field trips to the state capitol building. But it’s not every day those students are a witness to history.
That’s what happened to Cheryl Parr’s class. She’s a fourth-grade teacher at Coosa Christian School in Gadsden and she was leading her class on a field trip Monday afternoon as word spread that Gov. Robert Bentley would resign.
“We didn’t realize anything was happening until we saw a bunch of reporters,” says Parr.
She says their tour guide at the capitol told them it could be a historic day, but nobody there would talk specifically about the expected resignation.
“Then headlines were popping up on our phones about what was going to happen and so you kind of put two and two together,” Parr says.
She says while some students didn’t understand what was going on, others had heard about Bentley’s scandal from their parents. Some students overheard the adults talking about the situation and wanted to know more.
She says they talked later about the day and Alabama’s new governor, Kay Ivey. Parr says the adults didn’t share everything with the kids since Bentley’s resignation involved an alleged sexual affair with a former aide.
“[We] told them he made some bad choices and he was paying the consequences for it,” Parr says.
Parr has taken students on this trip before, but she says this year’s class will have a unique story.
“It’ll just be something they can share with their family or, if they get older, with their kids,” says Parr. “I think it’ll just be one of those moments that they remember for a long time.”