EVERETT — Cascade High School’s Melissa Webster was one of 60 teachers from across the United States chosen by the White House History Teacher Institute to travel to Washington D.C. in July to learn about the history of the White House.
The White House Historical Association hosted the trip: It was founded in the fall of 1961, by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who sought to assist the White House in obtaining and displaying artifacts of American history.
The week-long trip included learning the history behind the walls of the White House, and the stories told by the people who worked there. The goal of the trip is for teachers to take home the stories and knowledge to enhance their students’ classroom experience.
“They had us do activities and learning strategies so we would be able to take these lessons back to our classrooms,” Webster said.
According to the historical institutes website, Joanna Capps, Manager of Education Programs for The White House Historical Association explains how the White House is one of the nation’s most powerful symbols. Yet, school textbooks don’t include a chapter on White House history.
Webster spent her five days attending a teacher workshop at the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History at Decatur House, which was once home to the slaves that worked in the White House.
There, she participated in workshops and activities with other teachers where they heard discussions from some of the top White House historians and received private tours of numerous historic sites. “We had at least three historian scholars come and talk to us every day, so it was very content rich. They talked to us on the architecture of the White House … the art inside as well as the different renovations and reconstruction of the White House… we basically studied a building for a week,” Webster said.
During her trip, she went to workshops at the U.S. State Department where she learned about diplomacy and was able to participate in multiple simulations that focused around meeting the needs of other countries. She also spend time at the Library of Congress where she was granted access to a private room that held the primary source documentation for the construction and early maps of Washington D.C.. While there, she learned about how and why the original architect mapped out the city, along with learning what influence President George Washington had on most of the decisions.
On a day closed to the public, Webster and the other teachers got a private tour of the White House by one of its top curators whose job is the conservation and study of the art and furniture inside the White House.
While there, President Trump was scheduled to deliver two press conferences, one in the Rose Garden about the executive order defining the citizenship census questions, and the other in the Yellow Room, where he spoke at the Presidential Social Media Summit.
She particularly liked touring the National Portrait Gallery. “It was with a portrait artist who only works one day a week but has been doing it for over 40 years… she taught us how each line and drop of paint means something to the artist, and to look at what the artist was trying to say about each president,” Webster said.
During one of the workshops, Amazon was able to sponsor a lesson showing how teachers are able to use the Amazon Alexa device to program and use during classes to help teach a subject in a more interactive way. “They gave us all an Amazon Alexa device to put in our classroom. You can ask it specific questions regarding the White House or you could also preprogram her to teach a whole lesson about the White House,” Webster said.
She was also introduced to an app that she could show her students where if they take a selfie, the app will match you up with whichever president or first lady you look the most alike.
Earlier this year, Webster attended the American Barr Judiciary Institute, where she was able to meet Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
After the White House trip, Webster decided that three is the magic number and she went to Philadelphia for a week to attend the National Constitution Center to learn about the issues regarding the separation of powers.
“The Judiciary Institute meant the most to me because I started an Intro to Law class… The White House trip was awesome, I’ve toured it five times and this time I learned the most,” Webster said.
Webster explained what she thought was the key idea learned in the week she spent learning about 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. “It’s the people’s house. It’s the symbol of executive power in our country and right now the people and the executives are at odds,” Webster said.
Teaching our community’s youth is something she holds close to her heart. Every four years she fundraises and brings a group of her students to Washington D.C. to attend the United States Presidential Inauguration. While there, the students get to tour D.C. and attend an Inaugural Ball.
Entering her 21st year in teaching, Webster explained she wants her last nine years to be the best. She will continue to teach three classes: Government, AP Government and Intro to Law.
