AP U.S. History teacher Matthew Torrens took his students on a walking tour around San Francisco for extra credit on Dec. 29, explaining the role of the city in the development of California. Torrens has been leading this tour for the past nine years, making connections with street names, plaques and museum exhibits to the Manifest Destiny era in American history.
Twenty nine students met Torrens at the Sunnyvale Train Station 7 a.m. to take the Caltrain to San Francisco. The tour began in Chinatown, stopped at the Fairmont hotel, then ended in Union Square around 1 p.m., where students could have either stayed in the city or headed back to the train station with Torrens.
The trip was worth 8 extra credit points, which drew interest for students to attend. However, this was not the only attraction.
“Spending a day getting lost in a big city while learning about the origins of our state is not only an educational experience, but also a great way to unwind and reconnect with friends after a week of testing,” junior Michael Shang said.
After the tour was over, many found the trip to be insightful in surprising ways.
“We saw a lot of cool museums such as the Well Fargo Museum,” junior Katlyn Hirokawa said. “A lot of the places Mr. T took us were places I wouldn’t think would be historical, so it was interesting to get to see some of the historical sites in San Francisco I did not know about before.”
Although the tour takes place over winter break, Torrens remains dedicated to host this tour because he has “a passion for walking around looking at history. You learn more and it’s more interesting than a lecture or reading about it.”
Shang also shares Torrens’s view on the tour being an effective and fascinating lesson.
“The SF walking tour was unarguably the most interesting way to earn extra credit,” Shang said. “By participating in the tour, I learned just how much history a single block of an urban metropolis could contain.
The slightest difference in the tour this year compared to those of previous years is the steep drop from last year’s 43 attendees to tour with Torrens to 29 this year. Approximately 15 students toured independently in groups this year. According to Torrens, this drop is because this year’s tour was atypically scheduled after Christmas rather than before Christmas, when families have not left for vacation. He also encouraged more students to go on their own this year.
On the tour, several passerbys paused to listen to Torrens’s enthusiastic and knowledgeable lectures. According to Torrens, the trip had no mishaps and stayed on schedule.
Despite taking several hours to teach students of the finer points of San Francisco’s history every year, Torrens has a bigger goal in mind.
“I don’t think students will remember a thing about what I said, but they will remember the overall importance that San Francisco played in the history of California,” Torrens said. “They will also remember how cool it is to learn about the places you live. Getting kids to see how interesting the history can be in the places they live is my ultimate goal.”
