Washington D.C. 2024
– Mr. Brannan & the 8th Grade Chaperones
DAY FIVE
The effectiveness of the chaperone wakeup knock seems to be waning. By the time we returned to release students to breakfast, several rooms had turned their lights back out and appeared to have tried to go back to sleep. Well, it is day 5, and we have done and seen a LOT in a short time in DC together. This being our last full day, however, the chaperones made themselves as much of a nuisance as possible at the doors to the kids’ rooms so that they quickly got dressed and fled our presence by heading up to breakfast.
Once everyone had eaten, we left the hotel to visit the Marine Corps War Memorial. Dedicated in 1954, this memorial honors all Marine Corps personnel who have died defending the United States since 1775. The memorial’s design is based on the iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Joe Rosenthal of six Marines raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi after the Battle of Iwo Jima. The bronze statue is colossal, and it’s something the kids could feel as the bus approached it, especially when they walked up to and around it.
Here are some things they had to say at that moment—
Alex: I like the attention to detail. I think I admire this memorial even more because my dad was a marine.
Gigi: The optical illusion of the flagpole is neat.
Alec: They left a lot of space at the bottom to list more wars that Marines might be involved in.
Our next stop was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), which stands as a profoundly moving testament to one of history’s darkest chapters. As visitors move through its sobering exhibits, they are confronted with the stark reality of the Holocaust through personal artifacts, haunting photographs, and firsthand accounts of survivors. The architecture itself, with its stark industrial feel and narrow passageways, evokes a sense of discomfort and claustrophobia, mirroring the experiences of those persecuted. Particularly poignant are the Tower of Faces, or A Shtetl, an exhibit showcasing pre-war photographs of a Jewish community later decimated, and the stacks of spoons, scissors, combs, and other personal belongings taken from victims as they were led into camps, all a visceral reminder of the individual lives lost. The museum’s power lies in its ability to transform statistics into deeply personal stories, fostering empathy and reflection. It serves not only as a memorial to the millions who perished but also as a compelling call to action against hatred and genocide in all forms. In the words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, “Action is the only remedy to indifference: the most insidious danger of all.”
As teachers and groups of 8th graders rode the elevators to the top floor of the museum and opened to reveal the exhibit, an audible gasp filled the air. They were confronted with images taken by US soldiers who liberated the Dachau concentration camp under General Eisenhower’s orders.
This visceral reaction was precisely what Eisenhower had intended, even for generations to come. He had foreseen the possibility of future denial, stating, “. . . there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda.” To counter this, Eisenhower ensured that as much evidence as possible was gathered. His goal was to educate future generations about the “overpowering” horrors he witnessed, hoping this knowledge would inspire action to prevent such atrocities from recurring.
Here are some of the student’s reflective thoughts about their visit to the USHMM:
Karlo: All the artifacts they had made things feel real.
Summer: There were a lot of powerful visuals. It was sad.
Otis: The exhibits really pulled you in and forced you to look at what actually happened.
Miles G.: I like how they used things from the time it happened.
Bode: I didn’t realize that there were so many victims from the Netherlands because there was more religious freedom there till the Nazis came.
Eda: The videos were a lot. I had to stop watching.
John: The survivors telling the stories at the end was crazy.
Zev: It’s weird to think that so many Nazis thought they were doing the right thing.
Maceo: I agree. Hearing the firsthand stories of the death matches and people losing their toes because it was so cold was brutal.
Lily: The video on the doctor who was in charge of humane deaths was sickening.
Annika: Being able to listen to the actual audio of people from the camps gave a next level intensity I wasn’t expecting….
Noa: What stood out the most was being able to go through the replica barrack and to see what part of the gas chamber actually looked like….
Alex: The weapons that were found and recovered were crazy to see….
Nicklas: The gas chambers stick out to me, seeing the model of it and the canisters with (Zyklon B) pellets.
Julian: It was crazy to see the bags of hair they shaved off people, then sold.
Stella C.: The photos were really impactful. Toward the end there were photos of the sky and how it appeared from the different camps.
Tayla: I had heard of these stories but seeing it with the photos is so different.
Remi: The others that were killed with disabilities because they were unwanted by the Nazis stuck out to me.
Miles S.: The videos were powerful, hearing the stories of survivors.
Luna: It was scary seeing how it started, how it unfolded.
In English, the students will circle back to the causes and effects of the Holocaust as they begin their novel study on Night by Elie Wiesel next semester. Students will continue to answer essential questions about the individual and identity as we learn about Elie and all he endures.
After finishing our debrief of the USHMM, we went to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) to first have lunch. The Mitsitam Cafe within the NMAI is a unique museum-like cafeteria that serves Native-inspired cuisines from various regions of the Americas, allowing visitors to literally taste the cultural diversity represented in the museum’s exhibits.
They had bison burgers, salmon, corn dishes, and various root vegetable sides that were all magnificent, among other things. They also had a child’s menu serving chicken fingers and fries. You know your kids best. What do you think they decided to eat? The only hint we’ll give you is that the chaperones had more root vegetables not in fry form and salmon dishes than all the 8th graders combined.
After lunch, students received their DC Learning Guides and were instructed to visit a particular exhibit that focuses on broken treaties between the United States Government and Native tribes. There was one problem, though. A security guard on the 3rd floor told the first group of kids who asked about it that the exhibit was closed. So, the kids were thrilled that they would no longer have to fill out their learning guide and could just explore the other parts of the museum.
About ten minutes later, Mr. Brannan discovered the exhibit on broken treaties was open, and that the security guard was incorrect. When the security guard was confronted with this information, they doubled down to say that the exhibit was closed. The conviction the guard displayed made Mr. Brannan wonder if the kids had bribed him. (Parents, I’d check your ATM statements just in case!) or maybe this guard was putting on some sort of performance art by embodying the stubbornness of the US government in recognizing the many injustices they’ve inflicted on the Native tribes in the path of westward expansion. Either way, word had spread too far to try to get all the kids to go back to visit the correct experience and answer a few questions. Mr. Brannan will just have to add another lesson to his westward expansion unit later this year.
Even though the exhibit Mr. Brannan wanted the kids to study closely didn’t get to be experienced the way he wanted them to, a few kids did make their way through it. The others got to explore the rest of the NMAI, which houses over 800,000 artifacts representing more than 1,200 indigenous cultures with exhibits offering immersive experiences showcasing Native history, traditions, and contemporary life, all told from indigenous perspectives.
After the NMAI, it was finally time to put our study of civic action into action at the DC Central Kitchen. DC Central Kitchen was founded in 1989 by Robert Egger, who sought to ameliorate poverty and hunger through the creation of an organization that was part soup kitchen and part culinary training school. Today, DC Kitchen provides culinary training, lunches for 30 DC schools, and healthy, fresh, affordable food in food deserts throughout DC. Students were excited to receive their spots throughout the kitchen along the assembly line, cutting vegetables, plating lunches, and boxing everything up for delivery while wearing aprons, hair nets, and beard nets. That’s right, beard nets. Your kids completely forgot to bring their razors, even though it was listed in the fine print on the packing list. You may not recognize them at the airport, so we’ll encourage them to keep wearing their name tags. Or, maybe there’s another more logical explanation: they saw the opportunity to don an extra accessory to their wardrobe and took it.
During our entire time at DC Central Kitchen, they were overly engaged and helpful, seeking new tasks to complete when their stations were done. Hear that parents: if you let your kids dress up like a chef with an invisible beard, they might be willing to help with meal prep.
After food prepping, we made our way to the White House and Lafayette Park. Fences had already been erected across half the park, extending the normal boundary of the White House grounds more than normal. The fence construction is in anticipation of potential political violence after the upcoming presidential election and during the certification process. Is this the new norm in America? We hope not.
Waiting in Lafayette Park for us was Mike Zamore, a longtime veteran of Capitol Hill and current National Director of Policy & Government Affairs for the ACLU. He spoke to the kids about his experiences in politics and affecting change, including recent cases with the ACLU related to some of their SWIM projects that are hoping to affect change within the homeless community.
When he was done speaking, Luna and Gia went up to him to ask a few questions about his career, particularly as it related to the practice of law. They are die hard Mock Trial attorneys after all!
After leaving Lafayette Park, we departed DC for the final time on our trip. For dinner and fun, we went to a bowling alley. The food was . . . well, it was the type of food your kids really enjoy. But, what was even better was they had a great night of bonding together bowling, playing games, and creating fun, lasting memories they’ll remember from their 8th grade class trip long after they’ve gone off to different high schools.
What a way to cap off our final night in DC! But now, it’s back to the hotel to pack. We’re headed home tomorrow, but there’s still plenty left to see and do.
Before we return to LA tomorrow, we’ll be headed to Mount Vernon before stopping in Old Town Alexandria for lunch and a brief neighborhood exploration. Our last stop of the trip will be the Udvar-Hazy Center. After that, we head to the airport and cross our fingers that the flight is on time.
Now, you’ll have to excuse us. We’re headed to check on each room before lights out in order to explain to many of the kids we check on that the reason their bag won’t close is because they bought too many souvenirs.
See you tomorrow,
The 8th Grade Chaperones
