Integrity Means Teaching the Truth

Alternatively Titled: This Country was Built on the Backs of Slaves

Bear with me while I climb up on my soapbox for a minute here.

There are many things I love about our annual class trip to Washington, DC: the symbolism of the monuments, the architecture, the gorgeous photographs in the Museum of Natural History, the naive idealism that used to be politics, evident in the video presentation preceding the tour of the Capitol Building...

But in the last couple years, I've been more and more bothered by the conspicuous absence of any worthwhile discussion of the real "founding" of America.

There is brief talk of slavery when we visit Mount Vernon and explore the slave quarters, but it does not come up again on the trip. I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling here...Slavery is covered so superficially and in such a way that the reputation of the Founding Fathers is protected. I don't want our 13-year-old students to hear graphic details of slave auctions and rape and abuse but I wish they could hear some objective truth to clarify that these men were flawed human beings, not omniscient gods, not mythical, untouchable legends, and we should take care not to idolize people.

But it seems that any sort of criticism makes one unpatriotic...and apparently that is the worst thing you could be.

There is a profound discomfort as our guide tells us to look left and right at various buildings as we drive by but remains silent as we pass the new National Museum of African American History and Culture, drawing no attention to it.

There is no mention at all of the genocide that had to be orchestrated to allow us to live in this country today. Portraits and statues suggest that Indigenous peoples were eager to give up their land and their homes for the sake of white colonialism. 

Our guides overuse "these men died for your freedom" at memorials until it loses all meaning. I want to experience a tour that doesn't glorify the darkest parts of American history while whitewashing them at the same time.

All of this makes me incredibly uncomfortable. The reverence for the Founding Fathers borders on fanatical at times, and their shortcomings are dismissed because "well, that was normal for the time period." It is not normal for us, and giving them a pass normalizes racism and sexism, as if there was once an acceptable time to curtail rights and own human beings. 

I wish our tours were more honest about our history. I wish we had a chance to see diverse monuments that pay homage to the people who toiled against their will so we could live here as we do.

America did not spring up in a vacuum. It was not manifest destiny. People were murdered to secure our place on this land. The country was built through slave labor in the most literal sense of the phrase. And here we are, reaping the benefits, and barely sparing a moment to acknowledge from whence we came.

This is "our country". We feel that we own it. We take pride in it. (Sometimes.) We feel patriotic toward it. (Maybe.) But this blinkered nationalism...It has always made my skin crawl, and it seems to get worse every year.

I think this trip is valuable, but I just can't help but feel we're missing an opportunity to deepen the lesson and explore crucial complexities that would help our students develop compassion alongside national pride. Would it kill us to inject a little honesty into our history lessons?

ABK

Weekly Workouts: 5/15-5/21 (DC Edition)

Monday 5/15: Rest.

Tuesday 5/16: Rest. I was supposed to work out but had to pack for DC and lost time.

Wednesday 5/17: Our first day in DC! I never plan to workout on our first day, and this was no different. We got some solid walking in, though.

How many steps are supposed to make a mile? My steps and mileage were drastically different from others' the whole trip.

Thursday 5/18: I did some ab exercises when I woke up and watched my steps throughout the day, but there was no time for the gym or a solid workout.

All that time standing was tough on my feet!

Friday 5/19: I couldn't sleep and woke up before my "go to the gym" alarm (which was set for 5:07am) so I got to the gym early. I asked Stacey if she wanted to join and she said she didn't think so, so I left without her. I did about a mile on the treadmill (if my Apple watch can be believed) and literally cheered a few minutes later when the door opened and Stacey came in!

After the run I did some weighted squats, presses, bicep curls, and planks.

We flew home that evening after a weather-delayed flight. I was home and asleep around 11pm.

Saturday 5/20: I literally slept until 12:30pm and then napped from 3:30-5pm. Major rest day!

Sunday 5/21: Rest. I needed a day of housekeeping after travel!

This week was almost a total loss as far as structured workouts go, but sometimes that happens! This week is the last week of school, and I know it'll be exhausting but I'm planning to get some good workouts in!

ABK

Weekly Workouts 5/30-6/5

Monday: Because we didn't have work on Memorial Day, Elizabeth emailed me early in the morning to let me know which ab workouts she had done. I was going to do a Runner's World workout, but these seemed harder!

I did the first video twice and the second video once. I have no idea how she barely breaks a sweat and is able to talk so normally throughout her videos! Give me 90 seconds and I'm panting so much I can't talk!

Tuesday: Elizabeth and I completed the bridge loop twice for a four-mile run. We were worried about rain so we parked closer to the bridge than the last time I did this run (hence the shorter distance), but it ended up just being muggy and sweltering with nary a drop of rain in sight.

I didn't look at my paces at all. Even though this was speed work, I concentrated more on effort because of the heat. (We had to run earlier so I could go home and pack for DC.)

Wednesday & Thursday: These were technically "rest" days. I was up at 4am to meet the kids at the airport for our trip to DC. I knew I wouldn't have any time for workouts on Wednesday, and Thursday ended up being a long day too. I did get quite a few walking miles in, though. We were all over the city and did Arlington on Wednesday, so I'm counting that as hill work!

Friday: At 2:30am the fire alarm in the hotel went off and we had to get evacuate all the kids and wait for the all-clear from the fire department. (It was a small fire in the staff lounge, from what I gathered. I was relieved when I smelled smoke because I knew it was legit and none of the kids had just pulled the alarm as a joke!)

Still, three hours later I was up for a short run on the hotel treadmill. I only had time for 25 minutes, but I made the most of it, increasing the pace every five minutes or so and finishing at a sprint.

I also walked 4.5 miles that day for a total of 7 miles. Ouch.

Sunday: I was so exhausted on Saturday, I pushed our "long run" to Sunday night and opted to just do an hour run/6 miles. Of course, once we got out there, I realized just how tired I was. My legs felt heavy and I was having a hard time keeping a solid pace; the humidity was taking a lot out of me. Was it the stairs, hills, and constant walking of DC? Was it that I was still sleep deprived? All I know is that this run was a struggle-fest, and we ended up cutting the run a little short, but at least we got out there!

Let's play "how many gnats did Ali eat on her run tonight?"

I have five more days of school-with-students. I know this week is going to be nuts; I've got my blinders on and I'm ready to power through and finish this year on a great note!

How was your week?

ABK

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

DC (A Non-Running Post)

I have spent the past weekend trying to squeeze in as much sleep as humanly possible, and it still doesn't seem like enough.

The trip began at 2am May 1, when I met the charter bus at school to check in students for our trip to the airport. 52 14-year-olds, five chaperones, three days of non-stop site-seeing. I think my exhaustion is pretty self-explanatory.

We got to DC around 9am and immediately began touring the city. This is the second time I've chaperoned this trip. It's a blast, but I'm not exaggerating when I say we're up and moving from 7am until after 10pm every day. Here are some of the things we saw in our three-day-two-night visit.

Day One:

Mt. Vernon - George Washington's house, complete with his original furnishings (including the bed he died in).

Museum of Natural History...This is a whale's baleen. Clearly this could kill you.

Natural History Museum...Great White Shark jaw anyone?

My favorite presidential memorial, FDR's, is chock-full of symbolism and meaningful quotations.

Day 2:

Arlington Cemetery - always my favorite place to visit.

Arlington again.

 (I seriously think Arlington is the happiest cemetery. Those laid to rest here are never forgotten and constantly visited; the history of the cemetery is just creepy enough to be riveting without being gross, and there's just something very moving in knowing that the men and women buried here dedicated their lives to a cause they believed in. Over all, it's not a bad place to be.)

The Library of Congress - seeing the Gutenberg Bible was so cool, and the architecture is fantastic!

The Capitol Building.

The US Holocaust Museum is built to be reminiscent of a concentration camp. Truly moving.

The Lincoln Memorial.

The Korean War Memorial.

The Vietnam War Memorial - seeing all these names never fails to choke me up.

The WWII Memorial

The Washington Memorial

The kids got a chance to have dinner and play games at Dave & Buster's after this, and then our final day began.

Day 3:

The White House

Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was shot. We also saw Peterson House, where he died.

The MLK Memorial. Another favorite, full of poignant symbolism and moving quotations.

And the Sept. 11 Pentagon Memorial.

(As I said on the original picture post on Instagram, this was the first time I'd seen this memorial, and it may be my new favorite. It's really harsh and gritty, but with elements of serenity and beauty. I think it's a great dedication to those who lost their lives. It's not nearly as sterile as so many of the other memorials are.)

We went from Day 3 directly to the airport, then took the charter bus back to school. We arrived at 2am Saturday, and after twelve hours of sleep, I drove up to visit Britt, who had finally given birth to little Kaya. Both mommy and baby are doing well.

Such a snuggle-bear!

From what my fellow teachers said today, none of us feel very caught up on sleep, and we're already drowning in end-of-year preparations. I think I have approximately a million things to grade (no exaggeration), and the kids still have their research papers, presentations, and finals to take.

May is steamrolling ahead whether I get my feet under me or not. I can't even feel bad about not running in DC, although I brought my clothes, because I was just too physically exhausted to get myself to the hotel's fitness center (as luxurious as it was).

On a final note about the trip, I have to say that it's incredibly rewarding to see the students' appreciation for history, government, and sacrifice grow. They come away from the trip changed, even those who aren't "model" students; it's a trip that I wish all the students could afford to take. 

If you've never been...if you have kids and they've never been...go. No matter how many times I visit, something new strikes me, and I come away different than I was before.

And on that note...end of the year, bring it on...full steam ahead!

ABK