Truly the world is coming to an end. The venerable school field trip is now being added to the endangered species list because of, ahem, the lack of educational ties to the classroom. That was the whole point. Whoever dreamed up the very first field trip knew something apparently the highly certificated masters of educational curriculum today don’t –that 30 kids, imprisoned in a classroom, eventually seek escape at all cost. Back in the day when everyone walked to school in the snow up hill both ways, the field trip was the most exciting thing happening in school except for kick ball. Even if the field trip was simply going to the public library and a behind the scenes tour of the stacks, which were of course haunted.
The more exotic the field trip, the better it was. Who knew that my 8th grade field trip to coal mines and Amish country would yield a life long fascination with large yellow machines moving rocks. Apparently, I was not alone, since the Discovery Channel has a whole cottage industry of Mega Machines, undoubtedly created by someone who once took a field trip and decided to make a career of filming documentaries on trucks.
The Hour reports:
The pressure to improve student performance is especially intense in urban school systems struggling beneath the weight of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. James Thompson, the assistant superintendent in Hartford, said his district is reviewing its field trip policy to make sure every excursion connects to a classroom lesson.
“Schools are still taking field trips, but we want to make sure those trips are in line with the standards,” Thompson said. “What we’re trying to do is extend our teaching and learning opportunities.”
Norwalk school policy states all field trips must be directly related to the curriculum–such as a trip to Spain to study Spanish–and the merit of direct exposure to a subject has always been helpful for students.
“When a field trip is connected with work in the classroom, it has a strong effect on kids,” said Tom Murphy, a spokesman for the state Department of Education. “There’s no better way to experience something than when it’s right in front of you.”
I don’t remember what any of the connections to the classroom any field trip I ever took was. Some of the best field trips involved nothing more than a teacher, sizing up the moment of utter boredom in the classroom announcing that it was time to go outside and play kick ball. No fuel costs involved there. Others were loosely connected to the classroom, read the play and see it acted on stage. I don’t think I ever made it all the way through Nicholas Nickleby either reading it or staying awake during the performance, which just goes to show you that some things can be extremely boring no matter how they are presented.
Source: The Hour, Field trips may become a thing of the past, By NINA SEN, May 27, 2008
