Social teacher shows kids how to, ‘See America’

Learning how our country was shaped on television or books is one thing; seeing it in person is another. That was what Minneota Social Studies teacher Chris Shuckhart had in mind when he arranged for interested students to get a chance to witness some of the things they have learned in his classes.

Shuckhart offered those students he teaches in grades 8, 9 and 10 a chance to take an educational trip to Washington, D.C. this spring.

"I offered it to the students and any chaperones in the spring of 2018 in order to give them a chance to make payments for the trip, rather than paying for it all at once," explained Shuckhart, who will be entering his 28th year as a Minneota teacher this fall. Seven Minneota students and four chaperones embarked on the trip from June 7-10.

The students were: Norah Fadness, Allison Johnson, Morgan Moorse, Tyler Schmidt, Kara Schmig, Laura Schmig, and Morgan Wersal. Chaperones were: Shuckhart, Cherri Schmig, Dawn Moorse and Ellie Schmidt. "I was showing newsclips of various parts of the government to the students this year in Civics Class and now they got a chance to stand on the steps of the Supreme Court building," he said.

"That what made this trip interesting; to see these things in person that we they were learning about in class." WorldStrides Travel based in Virginia arranged for lodging, meals and tour guides for the group. Minneota was paired with middle schools from Wisconsin and Texas for its tours.

Another group they ran into in Washington, D.C was from Elk River. "That's where I am from," said Schuckhart. "I graduated from high school there. And one of the chaperones with the Elk River group noticed my Minneota shirt and told me he was from Canby and graduated with Cherri's (Schmig) sister-in-law. Small world, I guess."

The group flew out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and arrived in Washington, D.C. around 11 a.m. on June 7. Following a quick lunch, the group was whisked off on a tour. "We didn't get much time to rest or anything after the flight," laughed Cherri Schmig.

"We saw a lot of interesting things in a short period of time. There is really so much to see that we could have spent two weeks there and still not have been able to see it all."

Those taking the trip enjoyed the sights, education and experience, but their feet likely might have formed a different opinion. Because the time spent in Washington, D.C. only covered four days and the amount of things to see and do there could take months, there was little time for. "We did walk a lot," laughed Shuckhart.

"Ellie Schmidt had a pedometer that showed we walked 13 miles the second day." "When we went into the Capitol Building, there were a lot of people there and the places to sit were full," said Cherri Schmig.

"But our tour guide told us we weren't allowed to sit on the floor because that would be considered a protest and you would be removed."

Still, the historical value of the trip outweighed the pain in their feet. "I'm very glad that I went. It was an opportunity of a lifetime," said eighth-grader Kara Schmig.

Besides the Capitol Building and United States Supreme Court Building, the group visited or were able to view the Arlington National Cemetery where they viewed the eternal flame on John F. Kennedy's grave, the Air and Space Museum, Holocaust Museum, Iwo Jima Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Kennedy Center, Korean War Memorial, Library of Congress, Lincoln Memorial, Mount Vernon, National Archives, National Museum of Natural History, National Zoo, Pentagon, Smithsonian Institute, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Changing of the Guard, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, and World War II Memorial.

"I went to Washington, D.C. when I was in college in 1992," Shuckhart said.

"A lot has changed since then. When I went before, you could just walk into a building; now there is security everywhere checking bags with metal detectors."

As Shuckhart was hoping, each student and chaperone learned things at nearly every stop they made. "I learned a lot of things I didn't know before," said Laura Schmig, a junior.

"One of them was that they started building the Washington Memorial using a certain kind of stone and then ran out of money.”

"It was left unbuilt for 20 years. When they got enough money to continue building it, they used a different kind of stone. And you can definitely see the different colors of the stone now."

For Kara Schmig, she was surprised at the protests going on in Washington, D.C. "You hear about all these different protests on TV, but you never actually see them," she said.

"They were carrying signs, but I couldn't tell what they said on any of them. But it was kind of interesting to see so many people protesting." "What better way for the students to learn about the First Amendment than to see people expressing themselves," Shuckhart said. "There were three or four different protests going on. They weren't loud or anything, though."

The group also experienced both sides of the fence as far as liberal/conservative views. “Some of the students in the Minneota/Wisconsin/Texas schools group purchased MAG (President Trump's Make America Great slogan) hats and shirts," Shuckhart noted. "And some people made some negative comments to them." The overall experience was a positive one, though, for those in the Minneota group. "There were so interesting places and so many beautiful sites," said Cherri Schmig.

"Mount Vernon was my favorite. There was such a beautiful view there." The group was not able to enter the White House, but noticed the flag flying on top of the building to indicate the President Trump had returned from his overseas trip and inside the White House. The group experienced only one day of rain, but they donned rain gear and continued on the tour. "We mostly had good weather," said Cherri Schmig.

"The temperature was in the 80s most of the time and it only rained a little bit."

And what would the students tell any classmates considering going on a similar class trip in the future? "I would definitely tell someone considering going on a trip like this to go," said Laura Schmig. "But I would also tell them to be prepared to walk a lot."