The political science course, taught by Wynndolynn Thompson for the last 11 years, will be eliminated next fall due to a lack of student interest.
During this year’s course registration, only 13 students signed up for the course. Last year, approximately 21 students enrolled in the course.
Political science is a two-semester elective class reserved for seniors. First semester involves classroom study and the second semester is a field experience in which students serve as interns in government and government-related offices or agencies.
In the past, noteworthy officers such as Senators Clinton, Kerry, Biden, Robb, Webb, and Chaffee and Congressmen Kennedy, Cleaver, Moran, and Davis have hosted interns. Students have also interned at the State Department, the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C., and the Library of Congress.
Additionally, South Lakes students were the only high school students to ever intern at the Pentagon and the National Education Association. Students that played a spring sport were placed locally at locations like the Reston Association, the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, the Reston AIAA , the US Geological Survey, and law offices.
“Ms. Thompson has worked hard for many years to ensure that her students have had a variety of experiences,” said assistant principal Kimberly Retzer. “She is always looking for opportunities for South Lakes and our students to be recognized. Ms. Thompson has high expectations for the students who do internships so that while they are out there they represent South Lakes well.”
According to Thompson, past interns made positive impressions on their host agencies and organizations. She has been told that South Lakes students have been better interns than some of the college students and that they were always welcome to return for college internships.
The course offers students opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
“I enjoy going to my internship every blue day because the real-world/professional experience is a unique part of my senior year,” said Madeline Moravitz.
Some internship experiences revealed an unpleasant side to politics.
“I learned that politics is one of the biggest earth-shattering disappointing aspects of life,” said Reston Association Communication and Resources intern Ben Donahue. “I learned that it’s who you know, not what you know, and that the one way to get ahead is to stomach the BS of your superiors with a smile on your face.”
Although this course provides a number of great opportunities, it also presents challenges for those students who want to do an internship. In order to participate in the program, students must be able to dedicate the time needed to travel to their internships as well as the financial resources needed to take public transportation.
“Not all students can afford the time to travel and work downtown or the financial obligation of using Metro,” said Retzer. “Even for opportunities at the Government Center in Fairfax, students have to be able to get there. Students who are athletes have obligations to their team while others need or want to work to help their families or save for college. All of these challenges mean that some students are not able to take advantage of the internship option.”
Retzer said that Ms. Thompson works very hard to minimize these issues and tries to provide every student who wants to do an internship with a viable option.
These challenges were particularly difficult for Donahue.
“I enjoy what I do at the Reston Association but not the time frame in which I have to do it in,” said Donahue. “Having to work three hours a day, every other day, after a full day of school is exhausting.”
Donahue, who doesn’t own a car, also struggled with transportation. He lucked out though as he was able to catch a ride with another student, Madeline Moravitz. He says that this helped him out substantially.
Another issue involved with the course is that although the majority of the students enjoyed the internships they received, many don’t feel as though they were properly prepared for them during the first semester classroom phase. Several students have complained that the curriculum wasn’t directed enough and put too much focus on trivial things, such as lessons on attire.
Regardless, various current students were still saddened when they received news of the course’s elimination. Madeline Moravitz and Martha Desrosiers, for example, both expressed disappointment that younger generations won’t get the opportunity to experience these internships and hope that the course will be offered again in the future.
“I hope that the course will return to SLHS students in the future and that there will be a greater focus on the specifics of politics,” said Moravitz.
Donahue, however, was thrilled when the course was cut. He considers himself to have been a driving force behind the decision as he warned other students not to sign up for the course.
“I didn’t want others to suffer the same fate that we did,” said Donahue.
Ultimately, all of the aforementioned factors contributed to the removal of the course. The decision wasn’t an easy one for the administration to make though.
“In these budget times administration has to make a decision on how to use staffing to best meet the needs of our students,” said Retzer. “It was a difficult decision to not offer political science next year.”
Director of student services Shannon Tully agrees.
“It is always a complicated decision to cut a class that even one student wants to take,” said Tully.
However, administrators maintain an optimistic outlook on the situation.
“If there is sufficient enrollment, the course can be offered in the future,” said Retzer. “Just because we don’t have it for the 2011-2012 school year does not mean it is gone forever.”