Kids get bonus on history trip

Last summer, middle schoolers Brooks Maxwell and Raquel Davis were on a school history trip. But, not all the history they saw was from the past.

The two were among 28 7^th and 8^th graders from St. Louis Charter School. They took a week-long trip to see the historic sites in Washington, D. C., and Colonial Williamsburg.

They got a bonus of seeing present-day history in the making.

Fourteen-year-old Brooks, "We stopped at the National Cathedral when it was being prepared for the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan." He said the building "was so empty compared to all the other buildings we were in."

He said, "They were just starting to decorate the inside of the Cathedral when we were there. They already had lots of flags up outside the building."

Brooks Maxwell

Thirteen-year-old Raquel said, "It was kind of funny to see all the workmen running around getting the cathedral ready. Usually, you expect things to move slowly in a Cathedral."

The Charter School kids were back in St. Louis by the time the Cathedral was used for the funeral. Both Brooks and Raquel said they watched the funeral on TV.

Raquel said, "At first, I wasn't going to watch TV. But, after being there, I wanted to see how the decorations turned out. It was really pretty after it was done."

Brooks said, "It's a whole different world when you watch it through a camera after you've actually been there."

The trip to the East Coast was the climax of the kids' social studies classes. They were focused on American history during the 2003-04 school year.

The St. Louis Charter School has a "project-based" curriculum. That means the students "learn by doing." Their book-learning is strengthened by real-life experiences.

What better way to learn American history than with a trip to where the history happened.

Raquel Davis

In this case, the Reagan funeral was an historical episode as it was happening.

Brooks said history is his favorite subject. He's particularly interested in the World War II period. As an 8^th grader, his history lessons will focus on the period from the Civil War to the present.

The WWII period is right in the middle of those years.

Some of the outdoor things the kids saw while in Washington were the WWII, Korean and Vietnam memorials. They also went to Arlington Cemetery and viewed the exterior of the White House.

At the Arlington Cemetery, they saw the Kennedy gravesites, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Shuttle Challenger memorial site.

Brooks said his favorite was the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. "I really liked the animal displays," he said.

The most unusual small object was the famed Hope Diamond. He said the diamond was "about the size of my two fists."

Raquel said her favorite stop on the tour was at Colonial Williamsburg, in Virginia.

"I liked to learn the history of that place. They try to make everything look like it did in colonial times," she said.

Arlington Cemetery

One unique part of the tour was going back at night and listen to ghost stories. She said they hear stories in three different locations, a tavern, a church house and a old home.

Raquel said really enjoyed seeing the residents who were dressed in colonial costumes. However, she added, "I felt sorry for the women. Their costumes looked awfully heavy and hot."

She said the history trip prompted her to go to the Internet. She said she followed up on things that she'd seen while in the East.

"I looked up things about the window in the Oval Office (of the White House.) That's the one the President is never supposed to stand in front of in case someone shoots at him," she said.

She said she also looked up more information about the Albert Einstein Memorial. The scientist is noted for his atomic work as well as his theory of relativity.