Observations of Our Nation's Capital

My week in Washington has come to an end. Here are some thoughts and observations I had during my time in the capital.

-It's definitely the history teacher in me, but being in the city where the decisions that have shaped this country for the past 200+ years gives this place a different feel. I know that I live in the economic center of the country/world but economics has never resonated with me the way that history and politics do (after all I was predicted to be a US Senator in my 8th grade year book. Sad but true.)

-Seeing buildings in person that you've seen on TV or in textbooks your entire life is a little surreal. The Capitol (especially at night) is absolutely gorgeous. I suppose that visitors to NYC have the same feeling when they see the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty; I should appreciate those structures more.

-There's a crazy amount of people out running at 7 AM. I suppose this is because by 11:00 o'clock it's 90 degrees with 75% humidity.

-I love old cities for the little quirks that reveal a lot about the past. My favorite from Georgetown was the insurance symbols that are still found on many buildings (I've seen these in Philadelphia) The basic idea is that when you bought insurance back in "the day" you would be given a large metal disc that you would hang outside of your house (this was the time of independent, non-government run fire companies.) If your home was on fire, the fireman would show up. If you had their disc the fire was put out but if you didn't? Well no disc, no water so you better hope you don't have cheap neighbors.

-Georgetown made my list of places I'm going to buy a house when I'm a billionaire, and yes there is an actual list. Apparently the people are pretty obnoxious there but the houses are stunning. If I had a house that nice I'd probably be a jerk too.

-I thought the 10 pence per ketchup packet at McDonald's in Ireland was bad but a 5 cent surcharge per plastic bag? Really District of Columbia? Then again, am I actually complaining about being charged a nickel for a bag when I won't bring back all the cans and bottles I drink? I'll just shut up now.

-I don't know whether it's a summer, southern or politician thing, but there are too many bow ties in this city for my liking.

-Bike racks on buses??? Brilliant!

-Here's a tip I wish I was told before I got here. If you go down to the Capitol reflecting pool to take a night time picture of the Capitol you will get eaten alive by bugs and get a nice whiff of a pool that apparently hasn't been skimmed in 125 years.

-This one has nothing to do with DC but more with being away from home. At the end of each day, I throw change in an office style water jug in my bedroom. Without having that here, I realized how much change you collect over the course of 5 days. My latest count is $6.19 which will be a joy to bring home.

-Favorite part of DC? Hands down, The Capitol. I was lucky enough to go on a night time private tour with my group but I'm sure a regular tour would be amazing as well. The beauty and inspiration of the Rotunda cannot be properly captured in words; it must be seen in person.

-Regardless of political ideology or opinion of the president, seeing the White House up close is awe inspiring.

Overall an absolutely amazing week. Each time that I was amazed by a sight or building, I was quickly blown away by something equally or more amazing. The best part is, I probably only saw about 30-40% (albeit a BIG 30-40%) of what the city has to offer.

Learning in DC- Day 3: Lincoln and Reflection

Day 3 of the Civil War Washington Teaching Fellows brought me to Lincoln’s Cottage on the grounds of the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen’s Home. The day got me thinking about thinking.

Washington in the mid to late 19th century stunk…..literally. The exposed canal that ran through the National Mall, combined with roving livestock gave the city a smell that, when combined with southern heat and humidity, left the city unbearable.

Abraham Lincoln was well aware of these facts.

It was this knowledge combined with the recent loss of his son Willie that brought Lincoln 3 miles from the White House for 1/3 of his presidency. At a cottage on the grounds of the Soldiers' Home in northwest D.C., Lincoln could escape the noise, heat and stench of war-time Washington and have a place where he could reflect on the experiences and challenges that he faced as the Commander-in-Chief of a country at war. These challenges, which had not seen by any president before him (and possibly since) created a need for a place where he could think about the situation that the country was in and how the decisions he made affected millions of lives. While at the Cottage, all Lincoln had to do was look out the front window to see the results of his decisions. Just four months into the war, land across the road from the cottage became one of the nation’s first National Cemetery; the arrival of dozens of bodies each day, week and month gave him pause and afforded more time for reflection. Although dangerous, Lincoln would often make the daily trip to the White House without any guards so that he could be alone with his thoughts for a precious thirty minutes. This ability to slow down and examine both his life and his duties as president helped to make Lincoln the man who led our country through perhaps our darkest days.

One of the toughest things that we can do as people is step back, take a look at ourselves and evaluate not only what we do, but who we are as people. While this exercise can be very difficult for us, it is this reflection that can help us move forward by looking back and become a better husband/wife, teacher, friend or brother by reflecting on the times when we haven’t been at our best.

In the classroom, getting students to reflect on their work is an invaluable skill and tool that will help them grow as both people and learners. I realized this year that many, if not all of my students were not prepared to go through this exercise. It is essential that teachers, (especially in middle and high school) guide students through this process and help them to see that reflecting on their actions and learning can lead to both personal growth and a better understanding of who they are.

The last part of our tour today was a visit to the aforementioned National Cemetery. It was during this time that I was able to do my own reflection. Looking out across the 14,000 white headstones that covered the land allowed me to reflect on the sacrifice that those men and women made on behalf of our country. The few minutes that I spent there allowed me to see that self sacrifice can lead to things both great and small, whether it’s helping a student become a better thinker or helping the country preserve the freedoms that make America great.

Frederick Douglass: Patriot

"....he is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins."

Frederick Douglass was many things during his life: runaway slave, famed orator, adviser to presidents but it was after visiting his house today that I learned that Frederick Douglass was a great patriot and one of our greatest Americans.

It's generally accepted that a patriot is someone who loves their country and (in our case) sees the world through red, white and blue colored glasses. In post 9/11 America, we consistently hear that there are people in this world who not only hate America, but also the lives we lead as Americans. The result of this shift in our culture is the development of a bravado that dictates that if you speak out against or criticize America in anyway, you are not a patriot.

Today, I learned the true definition of patriotism and it doesn't look much like the patriotism defined above.

Today, Frederick Douglass taught me that a patriot is not just someone who loves his or her country but someone who can look at what their country is and what their country does and know that it can be better. Douglass lived in a country that celebrated freedom and liberty while keeping slaves in bondage and denying rights to many different types of citizen. He not only recognized this hypocrisy but he also let people know about it through his writings and speeches, specifically the beautiful, scathing and ultimately truthful "rebuke" of our Independence Day in his 1852 speech, What to an American Slave is the Fourth of July? This doesn't mean that he hated America, it just means that he cared about the country and its people. This idea of "tough love" translates to many relationships in life including parent to child and teacher to student. Multiple times during my three years in the classroom I have pushed students to be better because I've seen the potential in them; their response is usually questioning why it is that I hate them. Much like Douglass and 19th century America, I just want them to live up to the high standards that have been set for them.

Sadly Douglass was not alive for Jim Crow in the 20th century but while he was here, he gave America exactly what the country needed and what each of us needs at different times in our lives: someone to get in our ear, tell us we're acting like fools and to cut the crap. Whether it was the abolition of slavery, or the rights of women and free blacks, Frederick Douglass pushed America to live up to the lofty standards set by our founding fathers and by doing so he helped America become a better place.

Thank you Mr. Douglass, for not only changing America but also for teaching me how to truly love my country.

Learning in DC: Day One

I hated being a student when I was younger, just ask my parents or my sisters. However, this doesn't mean that I didn't like to learn new things.

That curiosity and desire to learn has grown even stronger as I've gotten older (some might call it maturity) to the point where I'm now happy to give up parts of my summer to go away from home to learn new things and try to become better at what I do.

I'm currently down in Washington D.C. to participate in the Civil War Washington Teaching Fellows, a program that brings together some of the best historical sites in the city to help teachers become better at what we do. I'll be here for the rest of the week alongside 25 other teachers from around the country, during which we will make trips to President Lincoln's Cottage, Frederick Douglas' house and Ford's Theatre. Today we started at the Tudor House, a home once owned by the granddaughter (and subsequent generations) of Martha Washington. We got a tour of the house, followed by a walking tour of historic Georgetown. Both provided great insight into the history of both DC and Georgetown, which I now know was once it's own independent city.

As a teacher, the highlight of the day came after lunch when we participated in activities that not only enhanced my knowledge of the city, slavery and the war but also gave me some resources and tools that I can use in my classroom. I've talked on this blog about how the greatest challenge facing a history teacher is making "old" things seem relevant to teenagers. The things I learned today, ranging from the narratives of escaped slaves and the use of various 19th century inventions will no doubt develop as least some interest in my subject and the time period. That is a very exciting thing.

I'll be updating the blog throughout the week, including a list of odds and ends I've observed around the capital by the end of the week.

Cheers.

The Summer Manifesto

After putting in a few extra days at school this week to wrap up some loose ends, today is my first official day of summer. During the school year, teaching is often an all encompassing profession with grading, lesson planning and a few dozen other things taking up what seems to be all of a teacher's waking moments. With this in mind, I usually try to write down what I want/need to do this summer in order to make the best of my freedom. Here's the 2011 list.

1)Read at least 5 books
-Summer reading was almost non-existent as a student, but now that I'm older I've come to really enjoy reading. I've already started and finished one book over the last week (Animal Farm, which I loved and was only about 130 pages long) so I think I should be able to meet this goal.

2)Write more
-Writing is definitely the interest of mine that gets lost the most during the school year. I don't want to put a number on this one, since I'm usually just inspired to write about something and don't want to write just to hit a number. I'll leave it right now at writing "more" with the hope of writing a few times per week

3)Go golfing 3 times
-I have this goal every summer and never meet, primarily because I look at golfing as more of a social event so I'm not interested in going by myself.

4)Be a better home owner
-There are plenty of things I can do around my house to touch the place up just need to finally do it.

5)Get ready for September
-This will be a mid-August goal. I really want to hit the ground running at school in the fall so I need to get some work done in order to do so. Let's not think about this one for a while.

Throw in trips to DC, Ireland and Maine and it should be a busy and (hopefully) productive summer.