Dear Donors:
“Kids these days…” that’s what everyone says and what they mean is that kids don’t know anything and they do crazy things. But we have just taken 90 “kids” to New York, thanks to your enormous generosity, and they have learned, listened, and absorbed one of the major cities of the world.
I do the challenging work of schooling because I believe that education is the only way “to sow seeds and grow plants.” We must continue to grow the young into people of decency, intelligence, and people with a respect for the past. On this trip, our students saw the homes of early immigrants, and one of them said, while standing in a room of 420 square feet for 7 people, “Wow, I am privileged.” This young woman comes from the southeastern section of Washington, DC, from a single mother, and from very challenging circumstances herself. While in the home of the Rosenthals, she saw that there have always been people who have struggled. She also saw that we are a country that welcomed the struggling, and she was proud of her country for that welcome.
Kids pressed against the windows of the buses and said, as they saw the Statue of Liberty, “Wow, is that really it? Really. I wasn’t sure it actually existed.” We must continue to combat the ills of fake news and virtual reality. This trip allowed students to be in reality in one of the most real cities of the world.
One of our African American students said, as we walked down 125th Street: “Harlem is in New York? Really?” I thought only rich people lived in New York.” Not sure you need more proof than that of what a truly profound gift you have given the students and faculty of Washington Latin Public Charter School.
--Dr. Diana Smith, Principal
There is no substitute for first-hand experience. Period. The students will be more connected to iconic American images like the Statue of Liberty, Broadway, and NYC traffic. They will forever carry with them their experiences walking through the living conditions of American immigrants in the Tenement Museum, feeling the magnitude of the World Trade Centers, and the wonder of Times Square. That is to say they will forever carry with them a deeper and more vivid portion of their American history.
--Mr. Corey Martin
Some of our students have never been outside of Washington, D.C. They can’t imagine a city as vast and vibrant as New York. These are D.C. public school students who may or may not have the means or support to visit other cities. The experience of visiting another major American city is eye-opening, and it is a shame that it is an experience often reserved for students of means.
We are so fortunate in D.C. to have free museums and houses to tour. By the 11th grade, students have visited the historic neighborhoods of D.C., museums on the National Mall, Frederick Douglass’ home, and more. But there are cultural and historical areas of New York that have no parallel elsewhere. New York is the seat of the immigrant experience. It was the first stop for so many families. The Tenement Museum provides an authentic historical experience students cannot participate in elsewhere. My students’ jaws dropped when they heard how three small boys would sleep on one couch, propping their feet on wooden boxes and resting their heads on cushions. They learned about the importance of the Tenement House Act of 1901, and of government protection in general for tenants’ rights and laborers’ rights. They learned visually and tactically, first-hand, trying to imagine how a mother might cook for her family without running water, or how children might work long hours from a young age to help support the family. The museum brought that history to life.
While D.C. has the historic U Street area, Howard University, and the National Museum of African American history and culture, there is no equivalent to Harlem, the home of America’s great cultural renaissance. Our juniors memorize and recite Harlem Renaissance poetry, but it is only this year that they have felt what it is to be in Harlem, that they have walked those streets themselves.
Our trip included many students’ first Broadway musical, which they loved. We saw Come From Away, a beautiful story of acceptance, welcoming, and connection. In a time of refugee crises and talk of a physical wall to shut out immigrants, this story has particular resonance. Regardless of politics, this show models what it means to give to those in need. Though teenagers love to affect world-weariness, they were visibly moved and enthralled.
Students were able to attend the 9/11 Museum and Memorial. Though it may be hard to believe, we are now teaching a generation of young people who were not alive when that great tragedy occured. The museum and memorial communicate that history through video, audio, and imagery. Tom Hagerty invites faculty members to speak to students every year about what they remember, but our witness pales in comparison to the testimony of victims, victims’ families, first responders, and New Yorkers who helped any way they could. The great gaping hole of the 9/11 Memorial provides an unsettling meditation on the impossibility of ever truly filling the space left that day in our nation. The museum, the One World Observatory, and the new retail and office space wordlessly communicate that we will not be beaten, that we will always rebuild, that we will come back grander and stronger than we were before. These messages have sobering, inspirational power for young people.
--Ms. Liz Foley
Our school motto is Discite Servaturi - “Learn, those who are about to serve”; put differently, the end goal of a Washington Latin education is a knowledgeable, thoughtful, and responsible citizen that can contribute positively in his or her community. Our trip to New York was an invaluable preparation for this future service. It opened students’ eyes to historical and cultural realities outside of themselves in a way that a lecture in a classroom could not. From stepping into an 1860’s tenement apartment to touching the warped I-beams of the collapsed World Trade Center, the trip brought major historical events that have shaped the lives of every American citizen to life for our students. They heard the story of 9/11 sung from a Broadway stage - an experience of both historical learning and cultural capital that I doubt any students will soon forget - and walked the streets of Harlem listening to stories of the Harlem Renaissance. What better way to prepare the future citizens and leaders of our communities than for them to get a sense of America and the American experience in their bones rather than just in their heads? I believe this New York trip did just that.
--Mr. John Stiff