| Educational travel can give teachers and | | | | |
| administrators a boost in exciting many | | | | All of these sites have strong ties to the |
| students about their academic lessons. Travel | | | | social studies curriculum and, best of all do |
| brings curriculum to life while teaching | | | | not charge an admissions fee. Once you have |
| lessons that students will need throughout | | | | decided to include them in a travel |
| their lives. As a former middle school | | | | itinerary, the key is to make sure the |
| principal I found that educational travel | | | | students receive the strongest possible |
| goes hand-in-hand with offering a total | | | | educational connections during the actual |
| educational program to young adolescents. | | | | visit. |
| This is even more important today as teachers | | | | |
| and principals are facing increased pressure | | | | You can easily increase the educational value |
| to prepare students to pass mandated academic | | | | of the visit by using a reputable student |
| tests. | | | | tour provider that specializes in educational |
| | | | travel to plan your trip. To begin with, |
| During my years teaching in middle school, I | | | | their experience will help prepare an |
| learned that young adolescents can gain a | | | | itinerary that sequences the stops so that |
| multitude of invaluable experiences from | | | | the students are not overwhelmed with |
| travel, learning both the information they | | | | information. Their experience will also |
| will be able to apply in the classroom and | | | | present you with strategies for planning |
| skills that will help them develop | | | | effective group visits. I strongly recommend |
| personally. Unfortunately, some young people | | | | you ask the travel provider about adding |
| will never be able to take educational tours | | | | Washington, DC guides when visiting the |
| without involvement with their school. So, | | | | monuments and memorials. Their historical |
| middle school educators can contribute to a | | | | knowledge base will only enhance the |
| young adolescent's complete education when | | | | educational experience. |
| they include education travel in their | | | | |
| program. | | | | Another outstanding educational venue is |
| | | | Arlington National Cemetery. In addition to |
| Once you've decided to include travel in your | | | | visiting the John Fitzgerald Kennedy and |
| student's education, there are important | | | | Challenger Astronaut Memorials, your student |
| plans and decisions that will affect the | | | | tour provider can schedule a wreath laying |
| overall success of their travel experience. | | | | ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. This |
| This article focuses on selecting the best | | | | ceremony adds depth to the educational value |
| educational venues in Washington, DC for a | | | | of the visit and allows those students |
| class or grade level trip. | | | | selected for the ceremony the rare |
| | | | opportunity of interacting with an Army Honor |
| The best time to consider such a trip is | | | | Guard member. |
| during seventh or eighth grade when the | | | | |
| middle school social studies curriculum | | | | A visit to the U.S. Holocaust Museum can be |
| focuses on U.S. history. An educational trip | | | | extremely educational especially if the |
| to Washington, DC coinciding with this year | | | | students have studied this era in American |
| can provide substantial benefits to both the | | | | history and/or read The Diary of Anne Frank |
| individual and the school as a whole. | | | | in English class. The museum is self-guided. |
| | | | The emotional impact of the tour, coupled |
| All student groups that visit Washington, DC | | | | with their collection of newsprint, |
| should tour the White House and the US | | | | historical video and news reporting provides |
| Capitol. Their educational links to the | | | | an outstanding educational experience for all |
| classroom are countless. It's important to | | | | visitors. |
| note that the popularity of these two sites | | | | |
| coupled with the recent increase in national | | | | A student trip to Washington, DC should also |
| security now require that an appointment must | | | | include a visit to Mount Vernon - the estate |
| be prescheduled by a Senator or State | | | | of George Washington. The new Donald W. |
| Representative. | | | | Reynolds Museum and Education Center, and a |
| | | | tour of the beautifully restored estate, |
| Next, I recommend visiting as many of the | | | | outer buildings and the grounds have strong |
| following as possible: | | | | educational value. |
| | | | |
| - Ford's Theater and the Peterson House | | | | Finally, I recommend that student groups |
| | | | traveling to Washington, D.C. schedule a |
| - Arlington National Cemetery | | | | cultural activity. Exposing young people to |
| | | | the arts and culture is invaluable to the |
| - Smithsonian Museums | | | | overall development of the individual. One of |
| | | | the most popular activities is attending a |
| - Washington Monument | | | | theatrical performance at one of the area |
| | | | dinner theaters or a performance at the |
| - Lincoln Monument | | | | Kennedy Center. The theaters schedule age |
| | | | appropriate productions like "Beauty and the |
| - Jefferson Memorial | | | | Beast or Fiddler on the Roof" to help make |
| | | | this opportunity both educational and |
| - Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial | | | | entertaining. |
| | | | |
| - Iwo Jima Memorial | | | | In summary, educational travel to Washington, |
| | | | DC can add an important dimension to the |
| - Korean War Memorial | | | | total learning program at your school. I |
| | | | strongly recommend that you consider adding |
| - Vietnam Veterans Memorial | | | | travel to the curriculum and visiting as many |
| | | | of the aforementioned venues as possible for |
| - World War II Memorial | | | | the best educational value. |