Students studying foreign policy at STEM School Chattanooga told U.S. Sen. Bob Corker on Monday that crafting legislation isn't easy.
"We realized how complicated everything is in the Middle East," said Alex Rolph, a senior at the school.
Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, smiled and nodded.
"To be real honest, I knew nothing about foreign policy when I started in the Senate," Corker told the group of attentive students. "I went on the Foreign Relations Committee, and not unlike what you've done in this classroom recently, just to broaden myself and to be a better senator for the people in Tennessee and the country."
Corker visited the school Monday to talk with students about his experience working in foreign policy and to answer their questions about unrest in the Middle East.
At STEM School - which stands for science, technology, engineering and math - students learn through hands-on projects in which they are challenged to think critically and collaboratively to solve problems. The group of students Corker met with have been working this semester on drafting legislation dealing with ISIS.
David Wilson teaches the government and economics class Corker visited, and said it has been exciting this year to watch his students actually working to craft a bill, allowing them to learn about the legislative process and issues in the Middle East.
"My students are thinking about real-world problems, and working to solve these problems," Wilson said. "How great of an opportunity for these kids to talk about these issues and solutions with our senator."
Corker stood in the middle of the classroom Monday, sipping from a foam cup of coffee and speaking candidly with the class about what he has learned and seen in his eight years on the committee. He answered questions ranging from his views of the Syrian refugee crisis to the future of ISIS and what causes him to lose sleep at night. The topic of his financial "filing errors," which grabbed headlines last week, never came up in the class.
Corker applauded the students for their work, saying, "when I was in high school, we were not thinking about these things."
He reminded students that, even if the class develops the perfect solution to a problem in the Middle East, it is difficult to get legislation passed.
"To make a long story short, it takes a long, long time," Corker said.
Senior Alexis Fifer has attended the STEM School since it opened her freshman year. She plans to join the Navy after graduation.
"Today was a great experience," Fifer said. "It is not a regular thing to have a senator in your classroom."
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow on twitter @kendi_and.