AP American Politics Class Visits with Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Standing on the Speaker's balcony overlooking the Mall, 13 members of the AP American Politics class, with teacher David Sahr, waited for their visit with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Monday, March 5.
With them was Director of Advance Tom Manatos, a Walt Whitman alumnus, who welcomed the group, gave them a tour of the Speaker's office, and answered questions about life on the Hill.
Speaker Pelosi joined the class in her conference room, donned an NCS scarf that was presented to her, and spoke about how "we all have a responsibility to future generations.” She explained some of the priorities of the new Congress and talked about the need to make college more affordable and shore up the No Child Left Behind program.
The 11 NCS and two STA students took the opportunity to ask the Speaker several questions on the Iraq war, the Democratic presidential candidates, and statehood for DC, which she fully supports.
On girls getting involved in politics, Speaker Pelosi said that "You can’t do it for the power or the excitement, because the negatives are severe and the hours are long. You have to have one or a few issues that you truly care about. You should have a vision for what you’d like to see happen with those issues, and you need to research and learn as much as you can about them. And then you need to provide the hope and the energy to move those issues toward your vision."
Speaker Pelosi ended the 25-minute discussion by asking the class to pose for a group picture, even as she lingered to field a few more questions. After her departure, aides reported that she rarely spent more than 15 minutes in any meeting.
The Honorable Elizabeth Bagley, mother of NCS junior Vaughan Bagley, arranged the visit for the class and joined the students for the discussion.
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Speaker Pelosi joined the class in her conference room, donned an NCS scarf that was presented to her, and spoke about how "we all have a responsibility to future generations.” She explained some of the priorities of the new Congress and talked about the need to make college more affordable and shore up the No Child Left Behind program.
The 11 NCS and two STA students took the opportunity to ask the Speaker several questions on the Iraq war, the Democratic presidential candidates, and statehood for DC, which she fully supports.
On girls getting involved in politics, Speaker Pelosi said that "You can’t do it for the power or the excitement, because the negatives are severe and the hours are long. You have to have one or a few issues that you truly care about. You should have a vision for what you’d like to see happen with those issues, and you need to research and learn as much as you can about them. And then you need to provide the hope and the energy to move those issues toward your vision."
Speaker Pelosi ended the 25-minute discussion by asking the class to pose for a group picture, even as she lingered to field a few more questions. After her departure, aides reported that she rarely spent more than 15 minutes in any meeting.
The Honorable Elizabeth Bagley, mother of NCS junior Vaughan Bagley, arranged the visit for the class and joined the students for the discussion.