For the past 10 years, I have taken my United States Advanced Placement Government & Politics class to Philadelphia to hear oral argument at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. I have solicited all the funds for the trips from community business owners, my former steel mill buddies, and from my good friends and family. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them in this article: Tommy Pietrcollo, Judge Dom Motto, Robin Fazioli, Carol Fazioli Cutajar and her husband Paul, Michael Perry, Sandy Carna, Michael Neupauer, Joann & Michael Smith, Jeff Foley, Gregory Manzo, Dan Miller, Springfield Group, Johnny Martini, Catalyst, Incorporated., Chuckie Schmitt, SSAB Steel, Richie Antonelli, Anker Industries, Rita Hazen Foundation, Deb & Kevin McElwain, John DeCaro, Jr., Ed Leymarie, Larry Kelly. These generous donations cover the cost of the trip in its entirety.
The students who attended the educational field trip were: Brianna Francis, Gareth Poole, Loren Davis, Olivia Andrews, Gabby Ellsperman, Anthony Spadafore, Reilly Odom, Nicholas Riley, Luke Young, Tess Kohnen, Alyssa Simpson, and Zion Bunney.
The week before the trip, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, Debra McCloskey Todd, will send me the briefs, which are a detailed description of each of the cases my students will hear being argued on the day we attend court. Justice Todd, the first female to sit on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court since it was established in 1722, and I attended and graduated from Lincoln High School together, and it is through her gracious consideration that we have been allowed to attend the supreme court sessions all these years. Once I receive the briefs, I assign a brief to a group of two or three students, then in the cafe car on the train, each group of students will present both sides of the issue to me, that are going to be argued when we visit the court.
As I said, we take the train from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. It leaves at 7:30 in the morning, and arrives in Philadelphia around 3:00 in the afternoon. Once we arrive, we taxi to our hotel, throw our bags in our rooms, and make the last tour of the day of Independence Hall. The train was running late this year so we had to miss the tour. But in years past, since we were on the last tour, I have always arranged for one of my students to use the big, cast iron key, to lock up Independence Hall for the night. Independence Hall is hallowed ground to me. It is the birthplace of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.
When that tour is over, we take a quick trip through the ChinaTown area of Philadelphia. Then, we have a walking ghost tour that is led by a historian/actress, who dresses in colonial garb and relates wonderful aspects of Philadelphia’s paranormal history.
What visit to Philadelphia would be complete without trying a Philly Cheesesteak? So we leave the ghost tour and head to one of the local establishments for a Philly treat. Carol Fazioli Cutajar and her husband Paul, who live in Philadelphia, made a surprise visit with two boxes of fabulous Italian pastries for my students. We head back to our hotel, and get some well deserved rest. All of the day’s activities were paid for by my generous donors: the train, hotel, taxi cabs, Independence Hall, ghost tour, and Philly Cheesesteaks.
On Wednesday morning, we dress in business attire, and head to court. It is just a short walk to the beautiful city hall. Justice Todd’s office reserves seats for all my students in court. She introduces us and Lincoln High School prior to the court being called to session. We were very fortunate this year. Justice Todd took us all into the justice’s chambers, where my students got to meet all of the sitting justices, answer and ask questions from the justices, and have an opportunity to have their pictures taken with all of the justices. I am especially fond of the one picture that we took. It was of the three sitting female justices on the court and the six female students that I had with me this year. I call that photo, Girl Power!!! We were also very fortunate to hear Governor Wolf’s mask mandate for public schools in Pennsylvania being argued. It is a great opportunity when we are able to make our students’ education relative to what is happening in their own lives.
After we’ve listened to the oral arguments, we head back to the hotel, change clothes and head over to the famous Reading Terminal Market for lunch. It is located directly across the street from our hotel. It contains many, many restaurants, bakeries, gift shops, fresh seafood and butcher shops, and is a wonderful experience. After lunch, we tour the country’s foremost constitutional museum, the National Constitution Center. We begin our tour with the stirring, patriotic, one actor/actress play, Freedom Rising in the Sidney Kimmel Theater. We spent hours there, visiting the Interactive Bill of Rights Exhibit, and Signer’s Hall , where all 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention are cast in life size bronze statues. There was a 19th Amendment exhibit, How Women Won the Right to Vote, and also interactive exhibits where one can test one”s constitutional knowledge, and a fabulous gift shop as well. Our last stop that afternoon is a visit to the Liberty Bell for a class photograph.
We then proceed to the hotel where the students have about a half an hour to get ready to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art, run up its steps like Rocky Balboa, and pose by the Rocky statue for a photo. Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Wednesday’s now because of Covid. So this year we visited the Philadelphia Zoo’s Luminature Christmas exhibit. It was a beautiful display of decorations and color. After this we head for an elegant dinner at the Brazilian steakhouse, Fogo de Chao’. Teenagers can really put away the food!!!
The next morning, Thursday, is the highlight of the trip. Justice Debra McCloskey Todd will meet us at our hotel and I secure a private dining room. We have a breakfast meeting and Justice Todd introduces herself to each student and inquires about their future plans. We then sit down and enjoy a lovely breakfast. I have the tables arranged in a horseshoe with Justice Todd at the seat of honor, and my students have an opportunity to ask her questions about the cases and her tenure on the PA Supreme Court. It is an opportunity of a lifetime, and the justice spends hours of her time with my students. I cannot thank her enough. After the breakfast is over, we checkout of our hotel, and head to the historic 30th Street Train Station to catch the train back to Pittsburgh. When we return to Pittsburgh, we have one final treat and an experiment. We go to Primanti Brothers, in the Strip District, and compare Pittsburgh’s favorite sandwich with Philadelphia’s favorite. In all the years we’ve been doing this, Pittsburgh wins hands down!!!
CUrrently in my classes we are studying civil liberties and civil rights. If you’d like to know the difference, my door is always open. I had my students take the 1965 Alabama Literacy Test. It was designed to prevent African Americans from being able to vote in national, state, and local elections. I’m not sure that I could get all 70 questions correct? I like to show how far the United States has come with respect to some of its past practices, and to illustrate that you can’t judge the past, with today’s standards.
Once again, I must restate how much I appreciate the generosity of all who helped fund this truly educational experience.
as submitted by David Gaibis
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