Thursday, June 22nd
Washington, DC

Today was a little less hectic because we stayed on campus. The morning academic sessions centered on a basic lesson in economics from Dr. Eagles and public speaking from Mr. Saunders. Both are excellent teachers. Dr. Eagles is amazing. He graduated from Albans in the 1953 and after numerous degrees at the staple Ivy League schools he returned to Albans where he eventually chaired the History department for about 20 some years. Although his resume is quite impressive he never flaunts it. He will say, I teach history and economics. He is “retired”. Here is his farewell to the Albans community from SIX years ago when he retired. (Story) You must read this, it epitomizes the man. If my regular career ever gets as active and fulfilling as his retirement I truly will have accomplished something. He rides his bike to school every morning and his mind is sharp as ever, very analytical. The kids love him. It has been a pleasure to get to know him. I really owe him my presence here. I interviewed with him nearly two years ago at X-Mas and he agreed to let me tag a along last summer. We spoke at length for about an hour and half. Whenever he speaks on any talk I shut up and soak up as much as I can. Yes, Pete is quiet for an extended period of time…, don’t judge me.

After lunch I get to teach for about an hour and a half on the “Anatomy” of a newspaper. Another teacher and I design a scavenger hunt of sorts based on that day's Washington Post. We discuss declining readership, the role of the digital media, and the editorial page. The astonishing thing is that 80% of the students read the newspaper on a regular basis, not just the sports section. What this proves, in my mind at least, is the role that reading, and the newspaper in particular plays in the academic development of young people. I remember as a child waiting each week for my family’s subscription to Sports Illustrated and Newsweek. I really owe my regular reading of Newsweek to my interest in Politics and History. Class went well; I mainly facilitated kids discussing the above mentioned issues. The only reason we stopped because they needed a quick break before the next guest speaker came.

David Ignatius is an op-ed columnist and associate editor for the Washington Post. Here is a link to a collection of his pieces. (Columns) Here is a link to an older bio, he has since moved to the Post and another book is due this fall. He is also an Albans alum. He spoke of his career told and had a charming anecdote about his friends at Albans used to get together before debates and …, “wore tuxes and had their mothers make them a fine meal before their debates in the government club. We believed we were all quite impressive, our peers thought we were idiots” I love meeting someone who can make fun of themselves; I believe it to be an excellent quality. Ignatius told students the best way to become a good journalist and writer is to write, all the time. The best way to learn is to do. He spoke about some policy issues form past columns that the students had read and asked questions about. Ignatius also plugged one of his new endeavors at the Post called the PostGlobal. It is basically a blog that seeks opinions from a world wide audience on issues from around the world. (Story). I looked it over for about a half hour and it looked pretty informative. It allows those of us living here to get a reading on issues from other parts of the world. The blog is monitored by the Ignatius and Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria. The students asked probing questions and he stayed past his time to speak with the kids.

After dinner the faculty did a presentation on academic research for the students and then we broke into our individual tasks forces to utilize these new research skills. Then a quick walk for ice cream at Max’s. Man cannot live on academics alone.

If anyone is up this Sunday morning, our group is going to the NBC studio in Washington to watch a Meet the Press and then we’ll get a chance to hang out with Tim Russert for a while and talk about the role of media in politics. I am giddy. The guests are Sen. Russ Feingold, D-WI, on the Iraq war & his potential candidacy for the White House in 2008. Then, a political roundtable on how Iraq will affect the 2006 and 2008 elections with David Broder, Ron Brownstein, David Gregory & Anne Kornblut. (Story)