In early December, the upper school Literature of War class went on its annual trip to Washington, DC to perform service work to assist veterans and to visit some of the city's war memorials, museums, and other locations that support their learning.
Literature of War is a unique English course which has been taught for eleven years by Abby Phyfe. Students are given the opportunity to read and study a variety of texts that explore war in different contexts and from a variety of viewpoints.
This year they had the opportunity to volunteer at Access Housing, an organization that helps veterans experiencing homelessness in the DC area. The students decorated their spaces for the holidays and handed out gift bags full of soap, laundry pods, toothbrushes, toothpaste, chocolates, soap, and socks. Funds to pay for the supplies were raised through a bake sale the class organized during a recent school day at Moses Brown.
Additionally, they were given a private tour of war memorials by a National Park Ranger, learning the history and significance of their constructions. Conor Friend, MB Class of 2014, arranged a tour of the Capitol building and conversations with Senator Jack Reed, who gave them insights into his life of service, and with Gabe Amo, '05, who answered questions about the bills he is working on currently.
A visit to Arlington National Cemetery gave everyone a tour of its history and allowed a number of students to visit relatives' gravesites.
Each year this trip to DC is a memorable and powerful reinforcement of the themes of war literature studied in the class.