High schoolers know that there are certain things that are left behind, replaced, and forgotten about when it comes time to move up a grade or graduate such as ‘nap time’. Nap time was automatically put into the ‘left behind’ category, as there are too many responsibilities and assignments that trump a nap at two-o’clock in the afternoon. However, something such as field trips were completely forgotten about and left behind in elementary school. Field trips are not only going to the local zoo to look at the lions’ sleep and stare; instead, they are experiences for students to see real-world environments and situations that they may not have or be able to learn from. Field trips provide important benefits for students and should not be left behind, but prioritized to give students opportunities.
Unless you are a part of a club, which not every student is or wants to be in, there are currently zero field trips for students to go to or sign up for. Leaving school and getting the experience of seeing a new place provides students with insight into life and how things work. With that, field trips give students a ‘break’ from traditional learning, and instead, provide students the opportunity to learn in a different way that can be equally, if not more, engaging and impactful. Learning is not limited to the classroom, field trips give students visual and hands-on experiences that can influence students that cannot necessarily be recreated at school
Voicing this idea, Mr. Zangara, a teacher at BHS, said, “[G]etting the opportunity to see something up close and personal out in the real world is a great experience that really can’t be replicated in the classroom.”
In-person activities and encounters create memories that will endure much longer than a reading out of a textbook or a video shown in class. By putting students into groups for trips and having outside-of-the-classroom experiences, students not only have fun, but also get to be taught in an alternate way that may engage them more so than a traditional classroom. Field trips expose students to new people, careers, and locations, and this exposure can inspire students to pursue certain professions or passions. The moment a student learns anything, school-related or not, is an irreplaceable educational moment. Schools’ purpose is to teach students and provide them insight into what they may be interested in for the future, and field trips fulfill this purpose just as much as the classroom. .
Ms. Crisman, a teacher at BHS said, “On a well-designed field trip, students get to see first-hand how other people’s choices, their determination, and their hard work pays off. This exposure to real-life helps students imagine what their future might look like and can often help students make decisions about who they want to be and what they do and don’t want to do.”
Some students do not have the same opportunities as other students do when it comes to going to new places or meeting new people for learning purposes. However, schools have the resources and advantages to give their students the best educational career and experiences that they can possibly have before they graduate and go on their own way after high school, but unfortunately they are not exhausted when they should. While school is a place to teach core subjects, English, Math, History, and Science, it is also the place that is supposed to prepare young adults for the real world. Preparing students for their futures, learning the proper ways to meet new people, and asking relevant questions that are not based on an article or video, is incredibly important for the composition process for students’ future lives. Although videos, books, presentations, and papers are a crucial part of student learning, field trips and external learning experiences are utterly important since life is not solely revolved around four walls. The long-lasting impact that a student can obtain from a field trip is the exact reason why field trips should be back in high school, as well as opening the resources for different ways for students to learn that are not limited to one room.
