This year’s tenth grade intensive brought us to Washington DC. Through our investigation of the ancient Greeks, we have taken up the foundations of our modern institutions: specialized work, political and religious institutions, law and morality and the beginnings of democracy. One of the themes in our curriculum for the tenth grade is comparing and contrasting and a visit to our nation’s capital is a wonderful place to compare and contrast the past with the present. A simple walk around the Mall is illustrative: Washington’s Obelisk, Lincoln’s Greek Temple, the Supreme Court building, Jefferson’s Roman Temple, and Martin Luther King’s forward looking monument, combined with a talk and personal tour of the House of Representatives with our Congressman Jim McGovern provided us with a rich insight into the past, the present, and even the future.