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As the assistant athletic director at Mount Tabor High School, Bill Dinkins usually spends summers making sure that everything sports-related is ready for the coming school year.

This summer, he stepped off the mower long enough to head to Washington for a week in mid-July to learn more about how government works day-to-day. Dinkins was one of two teachers in the 5th Congressional District who participated in Rep. Virginia Foxx’s “Teacher in Congress” internship program.

It was a great experience, said Dinkins, who teaches civics and economics at Mount Tabor.

“It was probably the best professional development I have been to,” he said. “I have a better appreciation of our government.”

Dinkins – who had met Foxx only once, briefly, years ago at the first Bookmarks Festival of Books and Authors – appreciated how Foxx treated him and the other intern, Heather Hahn, who teaches in Wilkes County.

“She talks to you,” he said. “She makes you feel like an old friend.” 

Foxx was generous in explaining how things work, and she did it in an impartial way, he said. During the week of July 13, Dinkins had a variety of experiences. He joined Foxx at Congressional hearings and during meetings with constituents. At hearings, he saw such nationally known politicians as Rep. Paul Ryan, who was talking about providing money for infrastructure improvement. A hearing on terrorism became quite heated, Dinkins said, as people offered their opinions about what sorts of actions should be classified as terrorism.

Hahn’s two young daughters joined her in Washington, and, when it was time for Foxx to vote on a bill, she invited the girls to join her on the floor of the House to deliver her vote.

“She knew how to make those kids feel special,” Dinkins said.

At meetings with constituents, Foxx heard from a Reynolds High School student who asked her to support measures related to juvenile diabetes. She also met with corn farmers and with representatives of a company in West Jefferson.

As she spoke with everyone, Dinkins saw some of the challenges that come from trying to make available money cover a variety of legitimate needs. “You understand financial responsibility,” he said. “We have only got so many pennies in the piggy bank.”

As Dinkins saw it, Democrats and Republicans work together more successfully than they are sometimes given credit for outside of Washington. What he did see was that rules and procedures that have been in place since 1787 can really slow things down.

“They are really restricted on what they can do,” he said.

Dinkins also joined Foxx at a reception at the National Museum of Women in the Arts and met both of North Carolina’s senators – Richard Burr and Thom Tillis. Foxx’s staff members also took the interns to the White House, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress.

“The staff was great,” he said. 

The time in Washington included such unscheduled extras as seeing the stepped up security surrounding a Vice President Joe Biden motorcade  and a Hillary Clinton visit to the Capitol.

Dinkins already knew the public side of Washington well. He has a daughter – Katie Dinkins – who lives there and the family regularly spends time in Washington. It was great to have a more behind-the-scenes experience, he said. He came away with a better understanding of just how hard Foxx, the members of her staff and everyone else in Congress works.

Dinkins’ experiences have made him want to create more role-playing activities in his classes to give students a better sense of how things work in Washington. 

Principal Ed Weiss praised Dinkins as a teacher and thanked him for participating in a program that will serve both students and other teachers as he shares what he learned with them in the coming school year.  

“We are very fortunate to have a dedicated educator who is giving of his time,” Weiss said. “That only helps others.” 

Dinkins’ interest in history and what goes on in the world goes back to elementary school when he started reading the newspaper each morning with his parents.

“That was a morning ritual,” he said. “We would discuss what was going on. At that age, they would explain a lot to me.”

Dinkins graduated from Florida State University in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science. After working in the business world for more than 20 years, he made the switch to education.    

Dinkins has been teaching at Mount Tabor since they moved to Winston-Salem from Florida in 1999 to be closer to his wife’s family. He earned a master’s degree in school administration at Appalachian State University in 2008.

Dinkins heard about the internship from Michael McCulloch, who teaches at Reynolds High School.

“He said it was a great experience – you get such a behind-the-scenes look at how Congress works.”” Dinkins said.

It was a great experience, McCulloch said when asked.

"Representative Foxx impressed upon me how much she appreciates teachers and made me feel very well-respected. She even did a 1-minute speech on me which is now in the Congressional Record as long as our country stands.  A former educator herself, she really values what we do.

"I also had a new appreciation for how hard she works when Congress is in session.  

"It was a great experience in general and incredibly educational for me, and I was able to bring stories from the Capitol back to my classroom at R.J. Reynolds High School.”

Dinkins, in turn, encourages other teachers to consider applying for an internship with Foxx.

“It is well worth their time,” he said. “It is an experience they will never forget.” 

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