End of the road

It’s roughly 1,100 miles from Room 215 at Creston High School to New York City and the halls of American history in Washington, D.C. But, social studies teacher Todd Jacobson has taken more than 300 students to see those sights up close and personal.

Earlier this month, Jacobson closed his chapter of taking Creston students on that journey of American history and culture during spring break.

“This was my 14th and last trip,” Jacobson said last week, reflecting on his many journeys to the nation’s capital city and federal district, Civil War battlefields and New York City. “I did two in Shenandoah helping the teacher who started it there, and this was my 12th in Creston.”

Just two years from his anticipated retirement as a teacher, the 55-year-old U.S. Army National Guard veteran says he’s enjoyed leading 350 students and nearly 40 adults on these tours, but it takes a physical toll. This year, for example, students walked a total of 33 miles in five whirlwind days of visiting museums and monuments in Washington, D.C. and various parts of New York City.

“I’ve had a knee replacement, I have bolts holding up the arches in my feet — a lot of miles in military boots,” the Desert Storm veteran noted. “On day four this year we got back to the hotel in New York and both of my ankles were the size of grapefruits. It hurts, physically, at this point.”

Over the past several years, these social studies spring break trips have alternated years with Spanish class trips led by Steve Shantz. The 2020 trip was postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the social studies trip was done in April prior to spring break. Otherwise, it’s been every other year, growing from a group of 10-12 students to more than 40 on some trips.

This year’s trip included 27 students and three adult chaperones besides Jacobson — his wife Paula Jacobson, Drew Dornack and Tina Morrison. Cost for each student was $3,361 which included all flights, hotel stays, meals and transportation.

“Kids could go on this trip with maybe enough money to eat at the airport when we get there, and have a great trip with nothing in their pocket after that,” Jacobson said. “They’d be well-fed, have a nice room to stay in each night, and do all of the tours. I’ve had several of the adults tell me it’s the best vacation they’ve ever had, because everything was planned out for them.”

WorldStrides educational travel and tours of Washington, D.C., Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and New York City coordinates a busy five-day experience for the students. The first few days include all of the traditional government stops — Martin Luther King Memorial, FDR Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Pentagon and Iwo Jima Memorial, the White House, Arlington Cemetery and the U.S. Army Museum.

“This was our first time seeing the U.S. Army Museum and that meant a lot to me,” Jacobson said. “On your dress blues and dress greens you have your ribbons. All of mine from Desert Storm were on that wall. I kind of had to stop for a second. It really hit me.”

Ceremony participants

Three of the visits that left lasting impressions on many students were the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the 9/11 Memorial in New York City and Arlington Cemetery. Four students — Taylor Smith, Lilly James, Dylan Dornack and Lila Berning — participated in placing a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The soldier in Jacobson came out in preparing for that ceremony.

“I said, in the military here’s how you do it,” Jacobson said. “You step with your left, you are in step with each other, when you get there you stop right there on that spot. You take the wreath, walk it out, turn to your left, and walk back to the other two. Then you all put your hand on your heart at the same time.”

“We were pretty good,” Dornack said with a smile. “We were perfectly in sync. We turned to our left shoulder and walked back together. We were in step.”

“Taps” was played at the conclusion of the ceremony, which left an impression.

“That’s when I kind of realized how important this was,” said James, a junior. “It brought more of a perspective on how many people have died.”

“It makes you feel like YOU’RE doing something important,” added Smith, a senior.

“When they play Taps, and it’s my kids standing out there, with a wreath that says Creston High School, it hits me,” Jacobson said. “I get emotional, because it’s my kids.”

In discussing the upcoming trip with each group of students and their families, Jacobson points out the lifetime memories the trip can have.

“I know everyone likes to go somewhere warm and hit the beach during spring break,” Jacobson said. “But what I’ve told the kids and their parents it that you are going to get a lot of history and a lot of government in D.C. and Gettysburg. Then in New York City it’s a little history, and a lot of culture. I also teach sociology, and when we’re in Chinatown or Little Italy, the kids can relate to that when we talk about subcultures. When we walk on Times Square you hear every language around you.”

Standing on Civil War battle fields, walking through the U.S. Capitol and visiting the 9/11 Memorial Museum at Ground Zero in Manhattan gives students a sense of history far beyond what they get in a history class.

“Just being at those sites makes it so much more real, rather than just reading about it,” Smith said.

“I’d read a lot about the Holocaust Museum, but it was really different to see the actual images,” James said. “I got a chance to talk to one of the survivors from the Auschwitz camp. She said she watched her sisters and family members go in the gas chambers and die. She was one of 100 that survived that camp.”

“I got to stand exactly where Martin Luther King stood when he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech,” Dornack said. “That was cool, to picture how many people were there.”

While in New York, the group attended a Broadway show, “The Outsiders,” at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. A highlight for each trip has been to the Statue of Liberty on an Ellis Island cruise after visiting the financial district of lower Manhattan and the 9/11 Memorial.

“I thought it was really cool to see it up close,” James said.

“One of my favorite things is the reaction I see in the kids when they see how truly big the monuments are,” said Paula Jacobson, who has accompanied her husband on six of the Creston trips, including those involving their two sons. “Their eyes get big. Like the Washington Monument, from far away it doesn’t look so big. But, up close they’re in awe.”

Lasting memories

Paula said after each trip when photos are posted on social media, she often sees comments from students who attended in past years.

“We’ll even see comments from Shenandoah kids who went when we were there, saying ‘that’s right Mr. J, I remember that trip. That was a great time.’ It’s pretty cool that it’s resonated with 350 kids over the years.”

Students say they appreciate Jacobson work behind the scenes in coordinating the trips.

“I think it’s pretty awesome that there are people in our community who push us to go and see this and plan it out for us,” James said. “Mr. Jacobson would point things out or explain something if we had a question about it. It’s cool to see these things that have such meaning to them.”

The goodbyes to familiar tour directors were emotional this time, Jacobson admitted, as he told them this was his final trip. He knows he’ll miss them, and the connections with students he got from traveling together.

“I’ve done it long enough now that this year I had the daughter of a student who was on one of our first trips,” Jacobson said. “There are families in town that had every one of their kids go on the trip with us. My goal on every trip is that each kid gets on the bus on the way home and says, ‘That was worth it.’”

The tradition may live on, said Jacobson, who has been in discussions with other staff members on the possibility of leading the trips.

“I worked too hard on this to see it die,” he said. “When you do something that means something to the kids, that’s pretty special. When I got on the bus at the airport in Des Moines on the way home this year, I told them, ‘Thank you, this is it for me. You guys could have done anything on spring break, but you’re not going to experience something like this.’ I think they understand that now.”