City Day's civics trip to Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas is a culminating rite of passage for the students and their teachers. It wraps up not only the eighth-grade social studies curriculum, but also the students' time at City Day. Chris Dow Head of School
The eighth-graders at Chicago City Day School recently returned from a weeklong trip to Washington D.C. and nearby sites — a trip that explored the intersection of civics and history. It was just the latest travel experience that City Day students have enjoyed this spring.
During the trip, the students toured the Capitol, visited Arlington National Cemetery, studied monuments around the city, and more. While the trip ties directly to the eighth-grade social studies curriculum, which focuses on U.S. history and government, the trip has an added significance for students and their teachers, given the fact that graduation is just a few weeks away.
"City Day's civics trip to Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas is a culminating rite of passage for the students and their teachers," Head of School Chris Dow said. "It wraps up not only the eighth-grade social studies curriculum, but also the students' time at City Day."
Students cited visits to Thomas Jefferson's home in Monticello in Virginia and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History as highlights of the trip.
"I was amazed at how much I learned at Monticello," one eighth-grader said. "Thomas Jefferson is someone we've been hearing about in school for a long time, but this gave me a whole new view of him."
As is standard for City Day travel experiences, learning was the primary focus. Students applied what they had studied in class to the real-world sites they visited, and in turn, the insights they gained on the trip helped shed new light on their past classroom work.
“You get a totally new perspective on what we’ve done in class by seeing these places in person,” one eighth-grader said.
Travel experiences are a key component of the City Day curriculum. Earlier this spring, seventh-graders had a weeklong STEM experience at Space Camp in Huntsville, AL. Sixth-graders, meanwhile, took immersive trips to Paris, France, and Madrid, Spain. This summer, a group of students in grades 6 through 8 will research coral reef habitats in waters near the Bahamas.
Mr. Dow said that City Day's travel offerings reinforce the school's curriculum and provide opportunities for transformative growth in students as they near high school.
"With immersive historical, cultural, and social experiences, our soon-to-be graduates get a taste of the young adulthood that awaits them. Their teachers also witness the students' preparation for the next phase of their lives," he said.
See photos from the Washington D.C. trip and earlier travels below.
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