It’s less than 15 miles away, though maybe more than 30 minutes with traffic. It’s the home of the legislative branch of the U.S. government, but many students have never been there.
Sophomore Katherine Ross has not had the time to visit the Capitol, but will get the opportunity now that all sophomores taking U.S VA Government will be given the opportunity to visit the home of the legislation branch.
“I think it’ll be interesting; I actually like politics,” Ross said.
The field trip is scheduled for Feb. 10, and buses will depart from the school at 7:30 a.m., and students will return to school at approximately 1:30 p.m.
“I think they’ll [students] get additional information or at least have a new appreciation for it, and they’ve learned about the legislative process and they can now see it in action,” government teacher Lindsay Zurawski said. “I’m just sorry that Congress won’t be in session when we go.”
Sophomores will get the opportunity to see the gallery, the room commonly seen on the C-Span channel, but it will be empty since Congress will not be in session.
There will be three guided tour sessions, starting at 10 a.m., for the over 100 sophomores going on the trip, each between 30 and 45 minutes. When students are not in a guided tour session, they will be on a self- guided tour until noon.
Though the trip promises to be a memorable experience for many sophomores taking government, some simply view it as a way to get out of class.
“It’s kind of convenient that we’re missing class and we’ll be with our friends and our classmates,” sophomore Alison de la Concepcion said. “I think it’s a big part of the curriculum and there’s pretty scenery.”
While it may only be an excuse to get out of class, Zurawski willingly visited the Capitol during middle school to take part in a rally to promote legislation.
“I wanted to go; we were actually part of a rally, involving dolphins being caught in tuna nets,” Zurawski said. “There was a piece of legislature that was passed to prevent that from happening. We were part of a rally outside, then went in to tour the building.”
Given the opportunity, students will still have varied views on the trip and what they’ll take away from the experience. The government teachers can hope that the students learn something or at least enjoy the field trip.
