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School trips to D.C.

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Fremen, Apr 3, 2014.

  1. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I saw many of the same images as young person, and on my bucket list is a full tour of the Holocaust Museum.

    I've been to the one in Houston. I cried.

    Edit--I agree re the ages, and the individual stability of the kids.
     
  2. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    My mentor went last year when he was there with the 8th graders, as during the day the students were with the group doing stuff, and he got to go off on his own. He said it was really great, but yeah, not for 8th graders.

    I should note that this is one of the groups that runs a lot of these trips to Washington, D.C., which is why they're so ubiquitous: Home Page
     
    • Like Like x 2
  3. GeneticShift

    GeneticShift Show me your everything is okay face.

    We went to the Holocaust Memorial on my 8th grade trip and I thought it was an incredible learning experience that I would not have changed. It was one of the more important parts of the trip to me. But that's just my opinion.
     
    • Like Like x 4
  4. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect

    Location:
    At work..
    We never went to DC. I've never been
     
  5. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I went during the heat of the summer, and while that part was miserable, it was cool to see everything. We were walking through the Capitol Building and saw Newt Gingrich. Also, it was right before the '96 election, so I picked up a bunch of Clinton/Gore swag while there (my obsession with politics started when I was young). I think my favorite part was the National Archives. It was really the first time I'd experienced being able to see all these abstract things, like the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Magna Carta, in person. As a history nerd, that stuff gets to me. Hell, I cried this summer in the middle of the Mesopotamia exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum after seeing a piece of Hammurabi's Code in person. Yeah.

    Other highlights of the trip include my brother passing out at Arlington National Cemetery due to the heat during the changing of the guard, and my mother and I shopping our way through Georgetown while my father and brother were sick due to drinking the hotel's water after the remnants of Hurricane Bertha passed through.

    I'd like to go back and see everything I want to see as an adult (Library of Congress, the Supreme Court), at my own pace.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Japchae

    Japchae Very Tilted

    It is really mother effing hot in DC in the summer. Two years ago, I nearly blacked out walking from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial. Heat index that day was 120. Make sure the monitors and guides are aware of any heat, seizure, or blood sugar issues. Other than that, not much advice.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  7. DamnitAll

    DamnitAll Wait... what? Donor

    Location:
    Central MD
    Each aspect of our school curriculum was supposed to be touched during our 8th grade trip to D.C. and was manifested mostly with scavenger hunt-type problem solving exercises at various museums and monument locations throughout the city. I was one of two students in my grade enrolled in an accelerated science program at the time, which meant the two of us were taking 9th grade Earth Science instead of the 8th grade class everyone else was in. Apparently the teachers somehow missed this, and my non-participation in the science exercise at one of the museums we went to was marked a zero, which meant I initially got a failing grade for the trip.

    Bullshit.

    (They fixed it, eventually).

    I think my favorite memory was seeing this guy in the National Museum of American History:

    [​IMG]

    I'm glad it was on display at the time. :)
     
    • Like Like x 4
  8. Fangirl

    Fangirl Very Tilted

    Location:
    Arizona
    Your opinion is important! You were emotionally strong enough to handle it. Even now, I'm not. From what I see of you on the boards you are of the science/ analytical mind-set. I am an empath and gods know, whatever else.
    The thing to take away is, I think, an awareness of what happened, how it has affected us all to one degree or another, and the understanding that we should do everything in our power to never again let an atrocity of that magnitude happen.
     
  9. PonyPotato

    PonyPotato Very Tilted

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    I agree. No parents complained that their kid went to the Holocaust museum, and if someone got uncomfortable, they could leave and wait outside with the guides.

    I honestly think that most of this board isn't giving credit for maturity to 8th grade kids. Would you also have them not visit the Vietnam memorial? Study science by doing dissections because it is too graphic? In 4 short years those kids will be entering college, and I would much prefer they at least have the option of every cultural and historically significant experience they can get.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  10. Fangirl

    Fangirl Very Tilted

    Location:
    Arizona
    I was speaking for myself. And in considerations of some younger folks that might be extra-sensitive to the horrors of war which don't strike me like science dissections of the already dead. I went twice to Body Works exhibits of corpses flayed open to see their innards and muscles at work--took my kid each time.
    Vietnam Memorial is my fave emotionally--I know a couple of people on that wall, including my across-the-street neighbor. Korea Mem. in terms of artistic rendition, Lincoln for the cool lower interior full of photos, documeents and such, plus the huge Lincoln Memorial monument itself, which blows my mind. I've visited them many times. My point, though ill-written, was I wouldn't have wanted to be reduced to tears in front of a bunch of 8th graders. I cry every time I go to the memorials.
    I am VERY pro science. If I were smart enough, I would have gone into a hard science. And options mean everything.
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2014
  11. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC

    The best time to come to DC is anytime but Summer.
    Not only is the Summer unbearable. (it was a swamp before it was a city) but it's also the peak of the Tourist season, between vacations and otherwise people coming.

    Believe it or not, Winter without snow is good.
    The museums are still open at the same times (heat is on), much less people there. (especially good for the Archives, to see the Declaration & Constitution. Bad lines normally)
    Spring you're dealing with the buildup to the Cherry Blossom Festival. (The blossoms are late this year...the festival is on schedule)

    So I'd say the real best time is the Fall. (middle to late, if possible)
    Then any weekday is better than weekends, if possible. (just because more people come on the weekends)

    Just remember, if it's typically a convenient time for you...it's more than likely a convenient time for everyone else. (crowds are the pain...including parking competition)
    I'd try to come at off-beaten times.
    Really the places are open 365 days a year, except Xmas
    Just check the hours, typically 10-5

    BTW, Portrait Gallery is open a bit later... 11:30 to 7pm if you want something near the end of the day of your tour.
    Awesome stuff there.
     
  12. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Maturity in 8th graders varies widely, and there is a profound difference between an 8th grader at the beginning of the school year and one at the end. There is also a LOT of growth that happens over those 4 years of high school.

    Generally, it's important that kids have choices as to what they want to see at that age. Some of them may not be ready for a place like the Holocaust Museum or the Vietnam memorial. It's not simply about maturity, but also about understanding. Many kids that age don't know the significance of either, especially since U.S. history classes typically end with the Civil War prior to 8th grade; they don't touch WWII or Vietnam until high school in many places. Last year, a friend taught Elie Weisel's Night to 9th graders at the beginning of the year and to 12th graders at the end of the year after he had found out his senior students hadn't read it; he said it was a much different book to analyze with the older students. Even among 9th graders there is huge variability in maturity, and I think it really only starts to even out in 11th grade. Teaching Romeo and Juliet this fall had some awkward moments because the kids didn't really grasp some of the innuendo and I essentially had to explain to a class full of blushing 14-year-olds what Shakespeare meant by certain turns of phrase; this group also giggled uncontrollably when Leo and Claire made out in the movie. It left me shaking my head at them.

    However, I agree with the idea that these kids need opportunities to be mature; that said, it needs to be done with guidance at that point in their development. They may not understand why they need to be respectful because they don't necessarily grasp the significance of why these things are important to people.
     
  13. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I apologize in advance, this post has nothing to do with school trips. I suppose this post could turn out to be educational ;).

    Several people that I met who lived in/near DC told me that there was a monument (I think that it was monument, maybe something to do with the Postal Service???) with an observation deck, that is alway open, 24/7, never locked. It's located in a semi-obscure location, off the beaten path so to say, but still near the Mall. It is best known for the risque sex that takes place there. Anybody familiar with it?
     
  14. redux

    redux Very Tilted

    Location:
    Foggy Bottom
    There is an observation deck in the bell tower of the 100+ year old Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Ave. I think it is the second tallest building in DC.

    But it is not open 24/7 and never heard of risque sex there.

    And, in any case, the federal government signed a long term lease with Donald Trump last year to convert it to a high end hotel.
    GSA and Trump Organization Reach Deal on Old Post Office Lease
    --- merged: Apr 8, 2014 at 1:34 PM ---

    nothing risque here
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 15, 2014
  15. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    That certainly sounds like it, and clearly I didn't have all of the facts and/or misunderstood them. The folks who told me about it might have been perpetuating a myth and/or expressing a fantasy, or just pulling my Texas hick leg.
     
  16. redux

    redux Very Tilted

    Location:
    Foggy Bottom
    A great little known place to cool off in the Summer if you are visiting the Capitol Building is the Summerhouse, built in 1881.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. Fremen

    Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

    Location:
    E. Texas
    I think we've moved beyond just good places for school trips to visit. Now it's more for the everyman.
    And I'm ok with that. I'm learning a lot of neat history and valuable advice I would have never known, about our country's Capital.

    Keep the info flowing, please.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  18. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC

    Can't you really have risque sex anywhere? That may be the definition of it. ;)
    uhh...but I don't think the US has gotten to European levels yet. (or better yet, Eastern Europe, those outside acts can be interesting...)

    Then again, I guess you could introduce that as a thing in DC for sex ed classes. :p
     
  19. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    Tell ya what, Rogue49, you take a girlfriend to the observation deck in the bell tower of the Old Post Office Pavillion, have it off with her, then report back. Video proof of the event would be a definite plus.

    I'd volunteer me & my wife, but if a video ever got out, it'd be too embarrassing for me :D.
     
  20. redux

    redux Very Tilted

    Location:
    Foggy Bottom
    For the high school kids......Washington DC Ghost Tours might be fun one night.

    I've never taken the tour myself, but Yelpers seem to rate it high.
    --- merged: Apr 8, 2014 at 11:45 PM ---
    If the kids are near Lafayette Square during the day, they are likely to encounter Concepcion Picciotto

    [​IMG]
    Concepcion Picciotto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    She has been there for 33 years, only briefly interrupted last year when the Park Service removed her tent for leaving it unattended (the attendants left....as long as the tent was attended, a permit was not needed.) She is back now, after the Congresswoman from DC intervened and her tent has been designated an extension of Occupy Peace House (where she lives when not in her tent) and a corp of volunteers staff it when she needs a break.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 16, 2014
    • Like Like x 1