Up Close and Personal

Late in the day, the teachers briefly stop at the Jefferson, Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt memorials for what is billed as the "Three Faces of Democracy Study Visit." Fuchs is taken with some of the

inscriptions, and, at the FDR memorial, shoots a photograph of one from the New Deal and World War II president: "We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens, whatever their background, and we must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred is a wedge designed to attack our civilization."

Fuchs compares the injustice and oppression referenced in FDR's words to the disadvantages experienced by students in Oakland. "You have to have exceptional teachers to overcome those disadvantages, and we do, thankfully, have exceptional teachers," Fuchs says.

On Thursday, the teachers and students go as one group to the Hill to visit their congressional representatives. The Oakland group meets with Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D) send aides. The group also attends congressional hearings.

"It was fabulous to see Feinstein in action in the Judiciary Committee hearing, pounding her hand on the table, demanding that competent female U.S. attorneys not be fired," social science teacher Wolfe says. "This fit in so well with the classroom unit I do on women in Congress."

On the final, unscheduled day of the week, the teachers sign the students out before they turn them loose on the town. Then the teachers, too, go their separate ways. Merrill heads for the House of Representatives, but for him a midweek trip to Monticello has been the pedagogical highlight; he will use what he's learned about Jefferson's genius for architecture and engineering. Wolfe takes in the Portrait Gallery, where she buys books and posters for her classroom. Fuchs heads to the Holocaust Museum and Vietnam War Memorial and Pasternak to the American Indian Museum.

A week later, back in Oakland, Fuchs reflects on his Close Up experience: "Being there, it was kind of inspirational. It makes you remember your vote counts, that even in a country approaching 300 million, you can have an impact. The trip made me really believe in what the government stands for, what it was founded for."

Eugene L. Meyer, a former Washington Post reporter, last wrote for the Magazine about computer gaming education. He can be reached at meyergene@aol.com.