The Oshkosh West Index - Inauguration brings history to life for Ruedinger

Volume 101, Issue 5

Online Features

Inauguration brings history to life for Ruedinger

By Emily Hopkins
posted 7:20:45 AM CST, Feb 11, 2005

Amidst shouts of “four more years” and a crowd of thousands celebrating the Presidential Inauguration on January 20, senior Kevin Ruedinger was one of the attendees of the monumental event. Ruedinger found himself seizing the opportunity to attend months before the election occurred.

“I didn’t even really care who won,” he said. “I just knew I wanted to go. When could I ever get an opportunity to witness this again? As I was first thinking about it, I realized that regardless who won, it would be a wonderful chance. Really, it was just being there, getting to witness something that most people don’t have an opportunity to see. It was listening to the Inauguration speech and being moved by it and I was just so excited.”

Ruedinger learned of the opportunity to attend the occasion from a previous experience with the Presidential Classroom, a program that gives students the opportunity to gain leadership skills and academic experience in Washington D.C.

“I went with a program from the Presidential Classroom,” he said. “I had done a previous program with them and signed up with them from there.”

History teacher Andrew Britton advocated attending the Inauguration because of the way classroom learning could be related to the occasion.

“I just think it’s a great opportunity to be able to see a significant political or historical event take place,” he said. “What a great way to apply all the history and political knowledge that you learn in school. Going there just makes what you’ve learned so much more applicable.”

In addition to seminars, Ruedinger got to see the sights of the city as a part of the courses he took part in.

“In one of the programs we split up into groups of 40 or so people and you could go to the Smithsonian or the Mall,” he said. “We also had debates on church vs. state and other hot topics.”

The diversity of opinions among those he became acquainted with also intrigued Ruedinger.

“It’s just so cool,” he said. “You have no clue who you’re going to meet up with. You meet all sorts of different people. I met up with people from Alaska, someone from Puerto Rico, and someone from South Korea. It’s so interesting to meet people in high school who are your age but share such different viewpoints.”

The change of students’ views on history and politics makes programs like these worthwhile, according to Britton.

“I think, being a history teacher, that this is something so beneficial to the students,” he said. “I’ve seen students go to Washington and when they come back they just have a new appreciation for what they’ve learned. It’s no longer just book knowledge. The history becomes more than just events and becomes real and changes your perspective.”

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