Saturday, May 30, 2015

A School Trip

There are a lot of things I like about being an 8th grade teacher; one of the many perks is the annual trip to Washington, DC. I've attended this trip as a chaperone quite a few times now. It never fails to be totally exhausting and totally worth it.

Here's a breakdown of our trip.
The grand total of students and teachers in our group ended up being 95. We had two charter buses to take us around the city.
The comments on this cracked me up. Our kids are generally really well-behaved on the plane and in public. There was some confusion regarding bags and boarding, but we were in the air by 6am and ready to start our tours by 9.
We did most of our walking on Wednesday. (One student tracked it on a pedometer and the final result was over 7 miles.)

I love Arlington and was happy to see it on the first day. Throughout the day, I found myself repeating, "This is one of my favorite memorials" and had to laugh. Apparently I just love the art and symbolism of them all!
The MLK Memorial.
The changing of the guard at Arlington's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Walking down from the farm animals to Washington's crypt at Mt. Vernon.
Needless to say, after the first day the kids were complaining a bit about their tired legs. Before the trip, we make it pretty clear that they'll be walking a lot, but they never seem to believe us!
Day two was set at a more comfortable pace. We took our time at the memorials and a few students found names of their parents' Viet Nam comrades on the wall. We didn't do the entire USHM (although I wanted to) and instead looked at the "They Were Neighbors" exhibit. The highlight for many students came after, when our guides surprised us with a trip to the zoo to see the pandas. They were awake and active! I think ending the evening on a light note was a great plan.
The WWII Memorial.
The Washington Monument.
The Supreme Court
Some of the teachers at the WWII Memorial.
Bao Bao was very active when we went to see the pandas!
By Friday morning, I was in desperate need of some alone time. Luckily, our hotel had a rooftop fitness center and pool. (I would have run outside but we actually stay outside of DC on this trip and I didn't know the area well enough.) Despite walking about 7 miles a day, I really needed a run, and it was glorious.
The view from the hotel roof.
I had the gym all to myself...I needed that!
After my run, I did some arm and core work, then headed back to my room to pack.

This trip had a few new things thrown in, including the National Portrait Gallery. It was fun to see the presidential portraits, but I was most excited to see the female Supreme Court Justices.

My students were curious about my love for RBG; I enjoyed having the chance to educate them about such a strong, fearless woman.
A highlight of our return trip was that, on our way to our gate, we heard clapping and cheers. An honor flight of WWII veterans was disembarking and people were applauding their walk down the concourse. It was a wonderful final moment in DC.

Words can't really express how exhausted I was after this whirlwind. I got home and was in bed by midnight Friday, slept until 11, woke up for breakfast, and then napped again from 2pm to 5pm. I'm still not functioning fully. 

The rest of my weekend will be dedicated to final grades and comments for the year. This last week is going to be insane...I've got blinders on for one more week, and then hopefully I'll transform back into a normal person again.

Have you been to DC? What's your favorite thing to do there?
 ABK

20 comments:

  1. As homeschoolers I truly hope to make it to DC someday before the kids graduate!! So much for them to learn there! Looks like you had a great time!~

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    1. I think as far as field trips go, DC is hard to beat!

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  2. You teachers are really special! I honestly cannot even begin to imagine taking 80 kids around DC for a few days. I can't imagine taking one kid around DC for one day!

    I've only been to DC once when my best friend and I flew up on a whim for Obama's inaugural weekend. Her family lives in MD so we were able to stay with them, and since we were still in college at the time we flew standby on AirTran for only $50! The atmosphere in DC that weekend was electric. I wasn't prepared for how COLD it would be, but it was such a great overall experience!

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    1. I'm so jealous you got to go to DC for Obama's inaugural weekend. I've never been to DC as an adult just for myself...I know I'd really enjoy having free time to explore more. Matt has never been! We'll need to make a trip up eventually.

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  3. I am glad your students got to experience DC! What an awesome field trip for them. I have been to DC several times. When I was in school, we went to see a play in the same theater Lincoln was shot in. A couple years ago, Paul and I toured the White House. It was really cool! We never went to the zoo in DC but would love to get there. Maybe this summer.

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    1. I saw a play at Ford's Theatre as a student, too! We've never gotten to go in the White House...I'd LOVE to do that!!

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  4. That sounds like a super cool trip for you and your students! You totally deserve an award for teaching 8 graders and not to mention take them on a trip!!! They sort of scare me, lol.

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    1. Our elementary school teachers are a little scared of the MS kids, too. But they're really harmless and fun kids! And for the most part, if you give them some freedom and show you trust them, they prove they can handle it.

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  5. That's awesome that your students get to experience this. What a great trip for them!

    I spent two summers in living in DC as an intern in college, so much of this post is a trip down memory lane for me. I think the Vietnam and Korean war memorials are my favorites. As an intern I gave tours of the US Capitol but never got tired of seeing that. What's weird is that the thing I miss most about DC was taking the Metro. I don't know why but I just loved it!

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    1. I wish we had a Metro...it's so convenient. There's a lot to love about the city and I totally agree that the Metro is one of those things, not weird at all!

      I love the Vietnam Memorial. The Pentagon Memorial may be my favorite, though.

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  6. What an awesome trip! I hope your students realize how fortunate they are to get to witness so many historical places first hand. Plus it's cool that you get to revisit those places each year. I hope you get some rest to recover from the trip soon!

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    1. Honestly, most of them just enjoy being with friends on a big sleepover. Hopefully in future years they'll look back and appreciate it. I just hope the trip plants a seed in their minds - that they like cities, or travel, or politics, or history...whatever it may be - and eventually that seed will take hold!

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  7. I haven't been to DC since I was a 7th grader in 2001! I would love to go back as an adult! Since you love RBG - did you see her quote in Time Magazine - "People ask me sometimes, when - when do you think it will be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is, when there are NINE." SO SO SO inspiring :)

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  8. Ahhh I should have given you my email to give you running routes from the VA side - glad you had a gym to use :) Last week (and this week) I saw so many school groups..I thought.. I wonder if Ali is one of these groups. I work close to the White House... so could have been!

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    1. It's funny because our guides kept telling us this was the most crowded time of year, but it actually felt easier to navigate than previous years!

      Next time I go, I'll definitely ask for some running routes!

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  9. That looks like a great trip! Washington DC is awesome. I haven't been there in a while, but I did go to a few conferences there. I really loved the food. Since there are so many different ethnicities in the city, there is great ethnic food everywhere! I can't wait to go back some time.

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    1. I'd love to go back to DC on my own time and get to enjoy the food and nightlife, etc. I've only ever been as a student or as a chaperone!

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  10. I really admire the commitment to this trip - you, the students, the school, etc. It's so important to see our nation's capitol.

    I have relatives in the area so have visited a few times and lived there for six months after college (though I haven't been back much since then). I love the museums, the area around DuPont Circle, and Georgetown.

    Glad you got some time to yourself!

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    1. I really need to make a trip back with Matt; I feel like I've never gotten to really experience DC to the fullest because I'm always there as a chaperone! :o)

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