Should we really have more field trips?

Students leaving for a field trip. Source: /https://stock.adobe.com/images/happy-teen-students

By Dania Olazabal, Staff Writer
December 22, 2022

Most students understand the excitement of knowing a field trip is coming up. Not having to go to that class you don’t like and having fun not in school at your desk is the best. I understand some students have never had that feeling, but I’ll give you a comparison: it’s like when you get picked up by your guardian early and get to do whatever you like when you get home.

Many students believe the school should offer more field trips. Senior Celine Sabatier said, “Yeah, we need that experience of getting out of Miami High occasionally. We’re here trapped, indoors, and we need to get that real-world outdoor experience. Some of us can’t leave our houses so we should at least get that experience of going out.”

An anonymous male senior, said, “I don’t think we have enough field trips this year, and it doesn’t matter what type of field trips. We just need more.”

Field Trip Expenses

Teachers go through a lot of work and collect a lot of money while planning a field trip. Ms. Rivero, the activities director, said, “Most of the time principal Mr. Valdes pays for the transportation” but every field trip requires 1 chaperone per 15 students.

The senior end-of-the-year trip known as Grad Bash is a lot of work for Ms. Rivero, who said the seniors this year were going to have to pay over 200 dollars per student. However, she said that since the seniors raised money, “I’m not going to charge kids over 200 dollars. I’m going to charge them 190 dollars instead of the 220 that it was going to be. I paid for 5 buses and 1,000 dollars per bus which is equivalent to 5,000 dollars.”

While on the field trip, teachers must get quotes for comparison of prices to ensure they paid the lowest price. If it’s over a day. For example, they’d have to rent a hotel. As the volleyball coach Mr. Nick Baumgarten said, he’d have to check the prices of nearby hotels and compare them and pick the best price and they must get a quote from each hotel.

Experiences

Many students have fond memories of past field trips. An anonymous 12th grade male said, “I went to Busch Gardens, and it was fun. I had friends who went, and it was a wonderful experience for us. I genuinely enjoyed it.”

An anonymous female 11th grader said, “I have gone to many field trips growing up and that’s honestly because of my grades, summer camps, opportunities, and after school programs growing up. I have gone roller skating, to the Everglades, zoos, Universal, and more that I can really remember because I did these when I was 8 between 16 and have gone on over 12-16 field trips. I’m sorry that other students couldn’t enjoy the same growing up.”

Teacher opinions

Many students would figure that most teachers would have a negative view of students going on field trips, but to my surprise teachers have a very positive view of them. In fact, many have said that field trips should be encouraged more, but they admit that they lack funds for frequent field trips and the time required of planning one, which requires a lot of work.

As Mr. Padilla, business teacher, said, “I think they’re educational and improve the educational experience. Sure, it’s going to be an interruption from time to time, but students can make up the work. The experience is more beneficial than the interruption it causes. Unfortunately, the process of planning a field trip is incredibly time consuming.”

Examples Of Educational Field Trips