Through March 23 to 26, students in AP US History and AP Government had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and New York City.
After taking a 5:30 a.m. flight, students and chaperones met with their first tour guide and spent their day going to the Supreme Court, several memorials and a local establishments.
“Going into this trip, I didn’t think it would be all that exciting, but I knew I was wrong when I met our tour guide Elizabeth, and she introduced us to all the wonderful things that DC had to offer,” Kayla Terry (11) said.
Being out of a classroom setting allows for students and staff to gain a better understanding of the material that is taught in school.
“There were lots of things that I learned that I didn’t know. I didn’t know there were two Vietnam Memorials. I thought there was just the wall and I didn’t realize there were soldiers that were looking at the Vietnam memorial. [I also learned about] little tidbits, like at Mount Vernon and the ‘ha-ha’ wall,” Mrs. Claire Kuhlenschmidt, Social Studies, said.
Students also visited Mount Vernon, where they met Vice President Mike Pence and saw the changing of the guards at the Arlington Cemetery.
“I thought it was very moving. I didn’t expect it to be dead silent like it was. It was just amazing how much respect they have for themselves and their country for them to do that,” Katie Favero (11) said.
In New York, students walked through Times Square, saw the musical “Wicked” on Broadway and visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
“[Being on the trip has] given me a better perspective of certain things and to be in the moment there like at the memorial for the 9/11, it gave me a better understanding of how and what happened and how close the buildings were rather than just seeing pictures,” Favero said.
Next year, students will be able to visit the National Archives and the African American Museum.
“I think [students] can get a lot of history, a lot of knowledge and they can get the experiences. Just watching the Changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then going to a broadway play the next day and sitting in Times Square, it was definitely a great experience that all the kids learned something [from], and you can get college credit out of it after you go on this trip,” Mrs. Kuhlenschmidt said.
