On a cold day in mid-January, High School History Teacher Anthony Belber’s ninth grade class is walking in Washington’s Southwest neighborhood, making connections to the DC historical events and developmental shifts they have been studying in class.
As they walk along the newly refurbished waterfront at the Wharf, with its modern glass buildings and upscale restaurants, Anthony encourages the students to imagine what it was like at various points in history—from its start as a waterway for the Nacotchtank Indians, to its position as a major center for slave trade or a disembarkment point for Civil War Soldiers, to the huge, municipal fish market that flourished from the 1800’s until the most recent redevelopment, only a small portion of which remains.
As the class learns about the various stages of land use in the city, these field trips are an opportunity to seek evidence of that evolution. “It's a chance for the kids to connect more directly with what they read about,” said Anthony.
In the Field
Students are asked to consider the following questions in the 9th grade “Community and Change” curriculum: Why is the neighborhood the way it is? Who made the development decisions? How did the city grow to be what it is today? These questions help students gain research historian skills.
Ninth Grader Annabelle Garland found it interesting to see buildings built in the last five to ten years alongside buildings built during the Urban Renewal of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s and those built in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s—all in such close proximity, and showing major class disparities that have carried over even until today.
“The mixture of upper and lower class residences and living spaces so close together was something I hadn’t thought about as much when it came to Southwest,” she said, “I found the upscale restaurant by the water that was on the same block as the food bank to be especially compelling.”
Anthony has been teaching at GDS for 28 years, guiding field trips for both his lower school (third grade) and high school (ninth grade) classes. His long view of GDS’s curricula has given him the opportunity to see firsthand the positive and long-lasting impact of field study.
“Any time a grade did something [afield] that tied into what they were learning in the classroom, that experience proved much more profound. Those were the trips that really stood out to the kids: the ones that tied into the curriculum,” he said.
Cross-Divisional Collaboration
Two years ago, GDS’s Community Engagement and Experiential Learning (CEEL) office embarked on a mission to introduce sixth graders to each of the city’s wards. Anthony’s ninth graders were learning about Tenleytown as part of their community studies–a perfect chance to connect sixth graders with their high school counterparts.
“My students become the tour guides of the neighborhood,” Anthony said, “It really drove home the knowledge that they'd been gathering about Tenleytown when they became the teachers and shared their knowledge with somebody else. It also helps to get the middle schoolers excited and a little curious and gives them a nice foundational background knowledge… It prepares them for that learning that they're going to experience again in ninth grade.”