BHS Close-Up and Personal in D.C.

   Twenty-nine students in the Close Up Government program left Brighton on Sunday, March 9th for this year’s first trip to Washington D.C.  Close Up Government teacher, Michelle Holowicki, has been planning this year’s two trips for about nine months, and she will leave with 34 more Close Up students on 4/20 for the second trip. Taking smaller groups on these trips allows the students to be paired up with other students from across the nation who are also in D.C. during these two weeks for the Close Up program.

   “This allows students from Brighton a more diverse and eye-opening experience as they meet kids from all over the country,” Holowicki said.

   During the week, the students are put on a specific schedule to visit different areas of Washington D.C. and they get some independence as they are given both Sunday and Friday to choose what activities they want to participate in. The students have workshops where they debate on current issues and they even get to meet their Representatives and Senators.

   “Students will see all the traditional monuments and memorials as well, but instead of just viewing them like traditional tourists, they will be asked to evaluate them in terms of major concepts and current events,” Holowicki said.

   Brighton High School is lucky to be a part of the Close Up Government program, as not many schools offer Close Up as a class. Close Up Government is a program that the high school is very involved in and the students learn about not only the government as a whole, but also how the government affects them. The program helps the students with individualizing their own opinion about our government.

   While in Washington, some students go through simulations where they will get into groups and have a “mock congress” which is where some students are assigned titles and the rest are congressmen. In this simulation, the students debate and vote over real problems in our country. In their groups they will also have discussions at each monument and learn historical facts about each place they visit.

   “As of yet, it has easily been the best week of my life,” former Close Up Government student Amy Noetzel said.

   Only students that are in the Close Up Government class get to go to Washington D.C., however, next year the opportunity will be opened up to the AP Government and Politics students as optional, but recommended. The number of students going from the Close Up class this year is lower than previous years but Holowicki hopes for the Close Up program to grow next year, especially with the new addition of adding the AP Government and Politics classes.

   Close Up Government students get much more out of their experience in D.C. than they did on the 8th grade trip. The Close Up trip is more centered on issues and debates rather than just site-seeing. This allows for much more learning, which is why the Close Up program is more academically challenging, however still enjoyable.

   “I got to go on Close Up when I was in high school, and am very excited to have the opportunity to continue the awesome Close Up program at BHS. Most Students who go say that the trip is one of the top highlights of their high school career,” Holowicki said.