I teach middle school history and geography in a K-12 building, with a high population of english language learners and low income families. Many are immigrants, some refugees, from the Middle East and Africa. Our school is truly a family. We strive to build a sense of community in our K-12 building.
As Saint Augustine said "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." In a class with many english language learners, getting to experience what we have been reading about first hand would be a once in a life time opportunity for them.
My students are caring, compassionate, creative and energetic learners, who deserve the chance to be able to participate in an incredible experience.
My Project
Many of my students come from low income families and do not have much opportunity to travel locally let alone out of the state. This trip to Washington DC will make history come alive for my students and give them the once in a lifetime opportunity to see our nation's capital and see our government in action! We read about history and government constantly in class, but I believe giving my students this real life experience would be valuable beyond measure, and something that they will be able to look back on for the rest of their lives.
As a history & government teacher, one of my goals is to help my students become active citizens who have a lifelong love of learning.
This trip will help me accomplish that objective. Every student deserves the opportunity to be able to enrich their educational experience through travel, regardless of their socioeconomic status. We will be stopping first in Gettysburg to pay tribute to those who gave their "last full measure of devotion", then heading to DC to tour the Capitol building and see first hand where our elected representatives make our laws. They will be able to see our original founding documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with their own eyes when we visit the National Archives. They will explore the amazing Smithsonian Natural History museum. They will step into history during a fateful April night in 1865 when we visit Ford's Theatre, the site of President Lincoln's assassination. They will walk the same paths of President George Washington as we visit Mount Vernon. Students will walk away from this trip with an experience that made history real for them, and our government more than just words in a textbook.
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