SPS 2013: Private Tour of the Library of Congress

Our trio of Sarahs* (*one is a Sararose) prior to the tour

SPS 2013 on the stairs of the Library of Congress

In the Great Hall

The Gutenberg Bible

Nik V. checking out the ceiling of the Great Hall

This morning the St. Albans School of Public Service visited the largest library in the world and America's oldest cultural institution -- the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress dates back to 1800, but the fledgling collection was burned by the British during the War of 1812. It was rebuilt at one stroke when Congress authorized the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's personal library of over 6000 books in 1815. With 33 million books today, that was a productive 200 years! We were fortunate enough to get an exclusive tour of the wonders of this great institution from Ms. Rachel Gordon, including a meeting with an expert in the Jeffersonian collection and a viewing of one of three perfect copies of the Gutenberg Bible in the world.  The video below gives just a brief glimpse of the scale of this grand building.

SPS 2013: Breakfast at Wimbledon, Dinner in Alexandria, and "Museum Madness" In Between

The St. Albans School of Public Service started off the day in very civilized style, watching the Wimbledon Men's Tennis Finals before and after brunch.  We actually delayed the bus departure (!) to see the final points of the match.  Judging from the enthusiastic reaction (see video below), SPS is definitely Andy Murray territory.

Next it was time for an SPS traditional weekend activity: "Museum Madness."  With the National Mall as the starting point, students split up in to groups and visited the wonderful Smithsonian Museums, ranging from the National Portrait Gallery to the famous Air & Space Museum.  (Judging from the photo below, Nik, Will, and Nick found their visit to the Air & Space Museum rather inspiring.)

The last stop on the itinerary was Old Town Alexandria, where SPS 2013 spent the afternoon exploring and having dinner in small groups.  After all that walking today, it's not surprising that Nik and Max looked for the first recumbent plastic cow they could find upon which to rest their weary legs (photo below).

Some of the women of SPS '13 in Alexandria (Isabel, Sam, Maddy, Stephanie, and Jamila)

SPS 2013: Take Us Out to the Ballgame!

After a miniature golf outing earlier today, the intrepid athletes of the St. Albans School of Public Service Class of 2013 are now switching to the role of spectators at the Washington Nationals vs. San Diego Padres major league baseball game.  (Special thanks to roving SPS Student photographer Grant S. for the on-the-scene photos!)

Thumbs Up from Stefano

Hey Ryan, who's your friend?

Ahh, baseball on a warm summer night! (Max)

SPS 2013: An Afternoon on the (Miniature) Links

On a hot and sunny day in Washington, D.C., how better to spend it than playing golf under shade trees?  We've got a great day for the "SPS Masters Tournament" (no green jacket for the winner, but they WILL get a blue T-shirt).  Later this afternoon, it's off to Nats Park for some major league baseball, as the Nats take on the Padres, followed by a concert at the stadium (country duo Thompson Square).

Jaime, Charles, and Sarah W.

Stefano lines up the shot, flanked by Ryan and Jonathan

The Blue Brothers? Nick and Will -- elegantly attired for the miniature golf outing

Matt E. with the tough put to make par

SPS 2013: Week Two Comes to a Close

It's hard to believe, but we are already almost half-way through the 2013 session of the St. Albans School of Public Service!  After a jaunt out into the Maryland countryside for the July 4 carnival, our SPS students were happy to spend Friday on campus.  In the morning, much of the group watched a video of the Brookings Institution's event on cybersecurity with General Martin Dempsey, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  A small SPS group had been to the event live, of course, and a cheer arose when we saw SPS student Jimmy Z. on screen asking General Dempsey a question.  We watched the video in preparation for a visit to SPS this upcoming Monday from Ian Wallace, a Visiting Fellow in cybersecurity at the Brookings.  (Click HERE for Mr. Wallace's biography.)

Later in the day, SPS 2013 split into class sections for economics class with Mr. Eagles and article discussion groups, led by SPS faculty, to discuss the concept of "geo-engineering": large scale environmental engineering projects that could conceivably combat global warming.  To give the discussion a springboard, SPS 2013 read an article by Michael Specter called The Climate Fixers.  (CLICK HERE for a link to The New Yorker online version of Mr. Specter's article.)  One "geo-engineering" idea would be to artificially inject particles into the stratosphere -- mimicking the effects of a large volcanic eruption -- to diminish the amount of sunlight that reaches the planet.  The concept of geo-engineering, and even small-scale experimentation in that direction, has been controversial in some circles, in part because some geo-engineering opponents fear that the prospect of a "big fix" would discourage policy-makers from current efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.  As always, the SPS faculty encouraged the students to put themselves into the shoes of policymakers faced with the question of whether to fund or encourage geo-engineering research.

SPS 2013: Slideshow from Carnival on July 4

Enjoy a video slideshow from SPS's night at the Walkersville Volunteer Fire Department Carnival on July 4. (NOTE: The slideshow is driven by flash and thus will not appear on any Apple mobile devices such as iPhones or iPads.)

SPS 2013: A Night at an All-American Country Carnival

There's not much that is more all-American than spending an evening at a carnival, complete with ice cream, fried dough, and Ferris Wheels. Tomorrow it's back to work for the St. Albans School of Public Service Class of 2013, but tonight was all about enjoying a warm summer evening with friends.

The women of SPS 2013 fear nothing! 

Sarah W., Steffi, and Nathan ready for lift-off! 

SPS has a new pet?

Jamila, Stephanie, Sarah K., and Maddy

SPS 2013: VIDEO of Carnival Competition

There's nothing like carnival games on a warm summer night (SPS 2013 at the Walkersville, Maryland, Volunteer Fire Department Carnival).  It was a good battle, but Rachel proved most adept at shooting a stream of water to drive a scary pumpkin head up a pole and was thus victorious.  

SPS 2013: "Shoe Fly Shoe" Event from the SPS 2013 Olympics

SPS 2013 VIDEO: SPS Olympics Balloon Juggling Event

Charles shows incredible competitive heart in the SPS Olympics Balloon Juggling Event!

SPS 2013: The Long Awaited, Fiercely Fought, SPS Olympics Have Come and Gone

If the "real" International Olympics can have sports like Trampoline (it's true, look it up) or curling, is it so wrong for the SPS Olympics to include events such as "Cookie Face," "Shoe Fly Shoe," and a trivia contest?   (Answer: NO.  IT IS NOT WRONG.)  See below for some photos from today's epic battle.

Jimmy competing in "Cookie Face"

A Team Effort on the Crossword Puzzle

Cereal Box Puzzle Event

So, the free throw context was athletic! (Kate S.)

Charles in the balloon juggling event

Team effort in the puzzle event

Stephanie gives it her all in Cookie Face

Ben is ready to compete in the egg toss

Jimmy celebrates a good grab in the egg toss

SPS 2013: Changing the World, Then and Now

The day before Independence Day was another busy one for the St. Albans School of Public Service class of 2013.  In the morning, most of the group attended a nonprofit workship led by Catherine Bellinger, who took a leave from her studies at Princeton College to start a successful nonprofit: "Students for Educational Reform" (SFER).  (Click HERE to read more about Ms. Bellinger in the Forbes "30 Under 30 in Education" list.)  In keeping with the SPS focus on thinking critically through case studies, Ms. Bellinger distilled lessons from her own experience in starting an educational reform non-profit into a case study that the students could discuss and debate.

As part of the group looked forward at the idea of changing the world through non-governmental organizations, a small group looked back.  The "Ted Trip" of the day, led by SPS Faculty member Mr. Ted Eagles, was to the Brookings Institution to hear the lecture: "Rendezvous with Destiny: How Franklin Roosevelt Took the United States into World War II."  (Click HERE for more on that lecture from the Brookings website).

Finally, the entire group reconvened for a case study that looked at some of the pitfalls of trying to achieve change through reform efforts: a Harvard Kennedy School of Government case on Oprah Winfrey's "dream school" for impoverished South African girls.  The case allowed the SPS 2013 students to consider issues such as the appropriate role of private philanthropy; resource allocation; and school and educational reform.

SPS 2013: A Scene from Today's Trip to the Naval Academy

No, we did not dress the SPS 2013 students up in sailor suits for today's trip to the U.S. Naval Academy (although it might be nice if our group stayed together this well when we are out and about in DC!).  These are the Naval Academy's newest midshipmen, there for less than a week.

SPS 2013: At the United States Naval Academy

SPS was fortunate enough this morning to be able to visit the United States Naval Academy, hosted by USNA Political Science Professor Stephen Wrage.  Dr. Wrage gave our group an insider's tour of the Academy grounds (aka "the Yard"), and then spoke with our group about the enhanced interrogation/torture issue that SPS has been considering recently.

Our host at the Naval Academy, Dr. Stephen Wrage

Future midshipmen? (Stefano and Rachel)

Grant asks a question in the discussion with Dr. Wrage

Bancroft Hall at the Naval Academy

SPS 2013: Asking "the Hard Questions"

One of our goals at the St. Albans School of Public Service is to encourage our students to ask the "hard questions" about public policy -- to look beyond black and white and see the gray in any situation. Over the past several days, our students have had several opportunities to ask those hard questions.  On Sunday, the SPS 2013 students and visiting international students from the International Boys' School Coalition Student Forum joined together to consider the issues of the U.S. use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques (such as waterboarding) after 9/11.  The two groups first watched the movie "Zero Dark Thirty," which begins with an extended interrogation scene.  After the movie, the SPS and IBSC groups mingled together to consider a case study on "enhanced interrogation" authored by St. Albans School of Public Service faculty member Ms. Chapin Duke.  The case took the students step-by-step through the practical and legal justifications for the use of such techniques, and ultimately asked the students to put themselves in the shoes of U.S. policymakers: "where do you go from here, if you are in a position to affect U.S. policy on these matters?  You're stuck with the good, the bad, and the ugly -- what path do you follow forward?

This afternoon the SPS students continued the process of asking the hard questions during a visit with United States District Court Judge James Boasberg at the United States District Court.  Judge Boasberg, using the time-honored socratic method, put the students in the shoes of a prosecutor or judge and evaluate the factors they would consider in choosing, first, whether to prosecute a given crime; and then how to sentence a defendant who has pled guilty.  As the students are coming to learn, there are very few easy decisions, regardless of the context!

Future legal eagles? Sarah I. and Kate outside the U.S. Courthouse