One by one, the students line up to enter the bus. They walk tiredly, slowly and without any excitement. To some students, the only reason why they would want to go on a trip is to miss class. Many students don’t understand the educational purpose of every planned trip, therefore they don’t feel it’s necessary to take part of the learning process.
Students would rather miss a full day of useful learning by attending a class trip. Staying in school benefits the students because they will be learning criteria that is needed in order to successfully progress into graduating. Having a trip here and there is viewed as a less educational break to the students in the school.
“I would choose going on a trip instead of being in class because it’s way more fun than class and sometimes you just want to get away from school and learning and just be with friends,” said Faith Vitale, 7th grader.
However, teachers don’t view trips the way that the students do. Teachers plan trips according to their curriculum and accurately plan a learning experience for the students that connect with what they have learned in class.
“The trip has changed a little each year as I’ve tried to include more and more students, keep the work meaningful and simple and give students more freedom to explore the museum. I think we did a good job of that and I’m happy with the results,” said Mr. Sosa. “I wanted my students to see the history that they learned about in class in person. Most of the material in the museum deals more directly with global I than global II but since I don’t teach global I, this is my opportunity to help make history real.”
However, there are some teachers who feel like trips are just an interference of meaningful class time. These teachers feel like any class time that is provided shouldn’t be wasted on a trip that isn’t going to teach them something meaningful prior to their class.
“Trips can be valuable and add well to a subject but they should be carefully scheduled not to interfere where tests are planned,” said Dr. Baribault, chemistry teacher.
Over the course of the junior class, there have been several trips, some whose learning experience was not as evident as others. However, a teacher cannot tell a student a trip is mandatory if they don’t want to take part of the learning process.