Heading back from a whirlwind of a trip to our nation's capital with the eighth grade. Always an adventure, always in flux, but after recuperating, I can say was a successful trip.
Overall, my question becomes though: "what is our goal". I think that I have some personal goals that I could like our students to reach - how they fit into the world, how they fit into history, how they fit into our country... and respecting those who came before them. It is overwhelming when you think of the enormity of what is available in DC, and I think that it is unfortunately impossible to see it all, but being able to form it around a theme would be wonderful. Getting everyone to agree on a theme will be the challenge.
Of course, it is important to me that the kids realize the sacrifice that veterans made to establish and maintain this countries liberties. The war memorials and Arlington National Cemetery are always my favorite places to visit to have that moment of awe. Unfortunately, for me, the fast paced aspect didn't allow for that quiet moment to soak it in. I'm continuously kid-wrangling.
Pausing a moment to reflect is especially important for our town in the past several years, and nationwide important in election years. Being able to reflect on where we've been will help in planning for where we're going. I think that we as a society tend to forget that. The media certainly helps facilitate much of the negativity. But kids are so impressionable and are becoming much more of a 'sound bite' generation that they don't study the big idea. That really concerns me.
I also have decided that I am very scattered, but have high energy during trips like this. My goal for next year is to script that energy into something that can be in hand for other teachers. I don't really think about it, but others have said that I do a 'good job' at it, so I really should get it on paper. Maybe I do have a future as a tour guide! The high energy though does come at a price. I'm spent...and sick. My body has hit a wall and I need to sit back and take care of myself to gear up for what the next week has to bring...
