Humanities NYC 2019: Day One

Students and parents were just as eager as our teachers to get underway this morning, arriving at RCMS as early as 5:45 A.M. After tagging luggage and boarding busses, we hit the road and made quick work of the drive to Liberty State Park in NJ. The next few hours were an enjoyable flurry of ferry rides, history lessons, and selfies, as students explored Ellis Island and Liberty Island in their groups. Walking in the literal footsteps of previous generations of immigrants, students listened raptly to the stories and voices of real individuals, via audio pendants, on a self-guided tour the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. We hit the jackpot with the October weather today, shifting from light jackets to T-shirts, and then back to jackets again on the top deck of the return ferry.

After a quick but historically informative pass through Castle Clinton at Battery Park, we clambered back onto our busses and shrugged through uptown traffic to Macy’s Herald Square for an informal dinner and a preview of the “Sensory Walk” planned for our walk home from the Empire State Building.

Mr. Young explained the time-honored tradition – begun on RCMS’s first trip to NYC, and concluding tonight with this ultimate family of Humanities students – of maintaining silence on half-mile trek back to the hotel. Students look, listen, smell, and feel the life around them as they traverse the bustling, fascinating streets of Manhattan… and they’ll draw upon this inspiration to craft and perform reflective poems about the city throughout our trip. [Make a note to ask your children to share their poems with you, as well as any other reflections they are able to capture while we are here in the Big Apple.]

Of course, the Empire State Building itself was a uniquely memorable experience, whether students had previously visited or not. Several new exhibit pieces illuminated what the building process looked like, how it would feel to have King Kong reach into the room and grab for you, and the ways various superstars (and ordinary visitors) have made their mark on the iconic architectural marvel.

Now, finally, we’re back at the hotel, settling down to get some well-earned rest before tomorrow – our first day of independent group forays into various corners of the city for interviews, research, and video footage.  A few highlights to look forward to include Bellevue Hospital, The National Debt Clock, the Museum of Modern Art, and Rockefeller Center. Stay tuned for more updates from Gotham, and enjoy a few snapshots from today in the meantime.