LYNN – History, perhaps more than any other subject, is reliant on text books and written accounts of the past which detail the progress and mistakes made by the people who formed the basis for modern society.For high school students, government and social issues are often more difficult to comprehend in the classroom setting, where words on a chalkboard cannot fully express the importance of the events being discussed.For members of the Lynn Classical High School History Club, an opportunity to visit historically significant places, filled with historic and educational information, is a much-needed fix for their addiction to the subject.Club leader and history teacher Gregory Washington has been providing that opportunity to his students, working with local businesses and the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston to organize and arrange periodic field trips to the library and museum, where his students attend classes, tour the grounds and participate in a variety of debates.Washington has been working with the library for several years, dating back to his tenure as a teacher at Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute, and has brought that tradition to Classical, where an enthusiastic group of history students has embraced the opportunity to learn more about the subject.Washington and his students will take four separate trips to the library this year, and he is hoping to increase the number to six next year.Students participate in a variety of programs and debates, touching on subjects such as civil rights, the Cold War and the 1960s.Debates cover topics like diversity and budget issues, and also affords students the opportunity to learn about politics and debate upcoming elections. In 2006, Washington’s students were even given the opportunity to watch Deval Patrick and Kerry Healy debate during the gubernatorial election.Students from several schools across the state attend the JFK Library programs, and are often integrated with one another for discussions and debates.”I like the debates because it gets us to understand what other students from other schools are thinking,” said history club member Mai Cau. “It starts as a discussion and usually turns into a debate because we are from different cities and we have different views.”The trips also allow students to examine documents and evidence of history within the library, including video and documents from Kennedy’s time as president during the volatile Cold War and Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.”I am a history buff, I love history,” said Dionysios Koutorlas. “We talk about the Cold War a lot, and I like that. I enjoy learning about the Cold War.”The trip is entirely voluntary, and students attend for different reasons. Some like to learn more about the topics covered in history class, while others enjoy touring the historic museum.The trip is made possible through donations from the JFK Library, which pays for the buses, and Eastern Bank, led by Vice President Wendy Silva, who provides money to hire a substitute for Washington during each trip.”It is really nice to see people from other areas and backgrounds so we don’t get that stereotype,” said senior Deborah Pierre. “It is a really great program. It teaches us a lot.”