The entry point of the mansion. Photo submitted by Edward Jiang.
On May 5th, 2018 English 11 students in Robin Doherty, Elizabeth Smith and Pasquale DiBenedetto’s class, went on a field trip to the Rhode Island Newport Mansions. The students are currently reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the teachers wanted the students to be able to visualize the major setting of the novel. They wanted their students to understand what life was like for Gatsby and how his life was surrounded with opulence and extreme wealth.
Smith said “The educational objectives of the trip [were] for the students to be able to understand the significance of the architecture of the Gilded Age and its correlation to the wealth of the time. Students would also be able to make connections between the events in The Great Gatsby and the historical exhibits featured at each Newport mansions.” She also stated that she would “absolutely” go back. She said “It was a great connection to The Great Gatsby. Students were able to visualize the setting and understand what life was like for some during the Gilded and Jazz Age.” She also added that “it was an extremely valuable experience. [The students] were able to travel to beautiful Newport, Rhode Island which is on the ocean. Students were able to emerge themselves into the beauty and wealth of Newport.”
One of the students in attendance, Terrell Pesaturo, stated she “learned who the mansions belonged to and why they were made. [She] learned behind the scenes of what happens when you own a mansion that hosts a lot of parties. It was also interesting to hear about the architectural design of the buildings.” She also added that “[She] was intrigued the whole time and it was an amazing experience to go to.” Pesaturo felt that one connection to the book was “How he threw parties in his mansion and how everyone that was working behind the scenes stayed out of sight but they were extremely efficient at the same time.” She also added that “[her] favorite part was basically the whole thing. [She] loved the tour and how everything was organized. It was very user friendly. There was no tour guide but [they] got headphones and a smartphone that was programmed to go along with each room and describe everything interesting about the room [they] were in.”
Edward Jiang, another student on the trip said he learned “a lot about the history of the mansions and how people lived back then in those mansions.” He also learned specifically about the furniture in each room. He also said “This was a valuable experience because [they] got to visit mansions that [they] don’t see here in Malden.” In connection to the book Jiang explained that “The main characters lived in mansions, so visiting mansions helped [them] get a better understanding of the book. He stated his favorite part of the field trip was “Looking at the view of the ocean from one of the mansion’s backyard.” He concluded by saying “[he] would go back to learn about the other mansions [they] didn’t get to visit.”
Overall the trip was very valuable to each student in different ways. Most, if not all, in attendance would say that they would return to the site of the trip. It was also valuable because the students got to be hands on and see how things really worked and they were each able to connect the mansions to the book in different ways.
