[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 18 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E252-E254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    TRIBUTE TO ISABELLE GLEN-LAMBERT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 2, 1998

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Isabelle

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Glen-Lambert, who is surely one of the youngest political activists in 
California.
  Isabelle--just seven years old--led a successful petition drive in 
her school to allow all students fair access to all of the playground 
equipment.
  I am not surprised to see such political sophistication in one so 
young, considering that here grandfather, my long time friend Bill 
Lambert, is the Director of Governmental Relations for the United 
Teachers of Los Angeles.
  It is clear that Isabelle has inherited Bill's endless energy, 
imagination and determination, and perhaps has even outdone him!
  Mr. Speaker, Isabelle's extraordinary accomplishment was chronicled 
in the Los Angeles Daily News in the following story. I recommend it to 
my colleagues as a shining example of that wonderful old saying, 
``where there's a will, there's a way.''

     Playtime Politics at Work--7-Year-Old Shows Lobbyist's Acumen

                            (By Terri Hardy)

       Like any good lobbyist, Isabelle Glen-Lambert has roamed 
     the hallways of the state Capitol, schmoozed with legislators 
     and passed out her business card along the way.
       Her most successful foray into activism so far: She 
     directed a petition drive at Calvert Elementary School in 
     Woodland Hills that won students fair access to use all of 
     the playground equipment.
       Isabelle is 7--perhaps the youngest political activist in 
     the Los Angeles Unified School District. She comes by it 
     naturally: Her grandfather is Bill Lambert, lobbyist for 
     United Teachers Los Angeles.
       ``Isabelle's been weaned on the legislative process,'' said 
     her dad, Floyd Glen-Lambert.
       The second-grader's most impressive campaign began last 
     month, when Calvert's principal announced that the school's 
     playground equipment was no longer going to be open to all 
     students by grade level.
       The principal had found that too many children were using 
     the equipment at the same time, causing some to get hurt. So 
     without consulting students, she directed that only those 
     children seen behaving well would be awarded with a ticket 
     and allowed to play there.
       ``I didn't get real upset until I started talking it out 
     with my friends,'' said the spunky Isabelle. ``It wasn't fair 
     that you had to get those dumb tags.''
       Isabelle stewed about the problem, but knew that it was 
     possible to change the system. After all, she'd been to 
     Sacramento with her grandfather, watching high-powered deal 
     making.
       She'd talked to politicians herself, handing out her own 
     ``lobbyist'' cards, that her father--a commercial printer--
     had made.
       (Asked about her grandfather, Isabelle had a quick 
     response: ``He's never been a law--he's still a Bill,'' then 
     let out a guffaw.)
       A possible solution to the playground problem dawned when 
     Isabelle's mother remembered that as a youngster, she had 
     circulated a petition among her classmates so girls would be 
     allowed to wear pants at school.
       One morning at breakfast, Isabelle shared her plan--
     ``Daddy, I've made my decision, I'm going to make a 
     petition.''
       ``We kicked it around a little bit, she wrote it, and put 
     it on a clipboard,'' Glen-Lambert said.
       Her first signature came from her 5-year-old sister, Rosie. 
     Several names later, she walked into the principal's office.
       ``I wanted to give her the biggest hug,'' said Calvert 
     Principal Shelley Rivlin-Hollis. ``It indicated she had a 
     real sense of security here, and also that she had an 
     understanding of the democratic process.''
       Rivlin-Hollis decided that the best way to handle the 
     petition--the first she'd gotten as principal there--was to 
     have the school's student council debate the issue.
       Representatives from grades three to five chose sides of 
     the question and then interviewed students, teachers and yard 
     monitors to back up their arguments. The ``great debate'' was 
     held in early December.
       Those on the ``pro'' side argued that more children got 
     hurt under the old system, which allowed use of the apparatus 
     by rotating the chance to play on the equipment grade level 
     by grade level.
       ``Less people got hurt when it was an award, in fact, no 
     one got hurt then,'' said Rocio Carbajal, a 10-year-old 
     student council member.
       But Derrik Clark, 11, countered that ``no matter what kind 
     of area, if kids aren't careful, they're going to get hurt.''
       Jerry Johnson, 10, tipped the scales when he argued that 
     everyone should have access.
       ``Even when some people are bad, they still want to play 
     there,'' he said.
       In a close vote, the council supported Isabelle's 
     petition--with the new proviso that it would now be rotated 
     by classroom, not based on grade level or good behavior, 
     keeping the amount of children in the area down and limiting 
     the chance of injury.
       ``Kids identified the issue and solved the problem, 
     everyone was happy with the resolution,'' Rivlin-Hollis said.
       Glen-Lambert said he was thrilled that the children were 
     allowed their say.
       ``We have shared decision making at this school, but 
     sometimes people forget about the children,'' Glen-Lambert 
     said.
       And Isabelle? She was happy just to get back on the monkey 
     bars.
       ``Look around this place,'' said Isabelle, gesturing at the 
     wide expanse of blacktop playground. ``Do you see anything 
     else good to play on?''
       Although pleased with the experience, it hasn't swayed the 
     little girl from her aspiration to become a singer.
       ``Would I like to be a lobbyist? No,'' she said. ``When I 
     went up to Sacramento, it seemed like a lot of work.''


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