Did your FCPS go on a really pitiful field trip this year to the Smithsonian art museum?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader went on a trip to the National Portrait Gallery. Was there for about an hour. Came back to school and ate lunch. He loves school, but said this trip was lame.

No class trip to Jamestown this year. He is very disappointed and seems to think it is because class behavior is horrible. Don’t know if that’s true, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Does your school send 6th graders to Jamestown? Only 4th graders go at our school. Of course, the current 6th graders got cheated out of that trip and didn't have any trips last year either.

6th graders at my kid’s school go to Philly. Also, covid cheated a lot of people out of many experiences. You can still take your kid to Jamestown anytime you want.

Who pays for a trip to Philly? The charter buses for that must be expensive.

It is $83/student or chaperone. Part of the expense was subsidized by the recent Boosterthon.

So it is costing more than $83 a kid, with the part more than that being subsidized by the PTA? Or the total is $83, and part of the $83 is being subsidized?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Our school did a similar field trip this year, but it was really great. The museum has a great program where they really went into detail about certain paintings. I think it’s way better than having kids randomly wander around. They learned a lot and really learned how to appreciate paintings.

But to go all the way to the museum and spent less than an hour there and only see 2-3 paintings sounds really lame to me. Do you work at Gatehouse? Like sure, start the program that way, then let them see the rest of the museum!

I was a chaperone and definitely don’t work at gatehouse (I think most of them should be let go). We were at the museum for more than an hour. Probably closer to two. And it was pretty great. The other parents thought so too. And the kids were pretty engaged and happy to be on a field trip. Did your buses get stuck in traffic or something?

You were at the museum for two hours and only saw three paintings, and thought it was great?

DP: I didn't go on this field trip, but as an artist and an art educator, getting students to look deeply at and discuss a work of art in detail is what we want. They probably used a rich discussion process that got students talking and thinking about the work and making connections. That's what makes an artwork meaningful and memorable. I'm sure students walked by and "saw" many other artworks in the museum as it's not likely to be three pieces right next to each other, they just focused in detail on those few.

As an artist and art educator, do you think the field trip described by the parent who spent less than an hour at the museum was well-designed?

There was one parent who described it positively which sounded like a fairly well-designed experience to me (though not much info so who knows) and another parent who said their bus got stuck in traffic and the docent was late which obviously is not. But the second one sounded like there were obvious logistic problems (at least from the parents' accounting), so more a matter of luck/disorganization than FCPS design.

I was just responding to "seeing just 3 pieces" aspect--that's about how many art pieces kids could meaningfully look at and discuss. I think being in the institution, learning the norms for behavior and absorbing some of the work they walk past also has some value--especially for kids without prior art museum experience. And most kids don't really have more than an hour in them to look at and talk about art. My own children are now teenagers who love art museums and will spend a lot of time in them, but as young kids I would take them and we'd only look at 2-3 pieces, talk about them, sketch in a sketchbook in response and only stay for 30 min to an hour unless we popped into the museum cafe. Spending a long day in an art museum is a way to get many young kids not to ever want to go again is what I found.

I personally like it when they include a studio making response to the art to help extend the experience, but with large groups that's not really possible. The art teacher might extend what they did on the field trip in their next class---that is what happened when my kids were in ES (they are in HS now).

We are talking about 6th graders- 11 and 12 year olds, spending less than an hour at the art museum, and seeing three pieces of art. That's pitiful. Perhaps it is appropriate for 5 year olds, I have no idea. OUr kids were very disappointed.

[Anonymous]

My 6th grader is going on this trip soon. As soon as I saw the schedule I was just as "wtf" as all the other people in this post. The planned schedule (assuming no traffic) only allows for 75 minutes in the museum (and that includes unloading and reloading the busses so really more of just an hour in the museum). It's an absolute waste of time. After missing so many field trips and not even getting to go on one last year (other grades did but the 5th grade teachers planned nothing) it's such a disappointment. There are 6th graders going to Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and other interesting places and here we are stuck with the Portrait Gallery. And it's likely to be the one and only field trip.

It's such a bummer because once you're out of elementary school, there really are no other opportunities for these kinds of learning activities. We take our kids to a ton of different places but there was just always something so exciting about those field trips when you were a kid. Kind of like snow days. I guess they're a thing of the past.

[Anonymous]

It seems like only kids who go to wealthy FCPS ESes get field trips

[Anonymous]

Didn't read this whole thread, but kind of surprised that people are surprised that FCPS field trips suck. My kid's last trip was pre-Covid, and it was in June, the temperature was in the 90's, they spent an hour going each way on a non-airconditioned bus, were not allowed to bring water and weren't given any water, and then weren't allowed to drink water on the trip either. By the time they got back kids were physically ill (one had to be sent home). This is the only thing my kid remembers about this field trip. If your kid saw three paintings, just be glad they returned alive and healthy, because that's about all you can hope for with FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is going on this trip soon. As soon as I saw the schedule I was just as "wtf" as all the other people in this post. The planned schedule (assuming no traffic) only allows for 75 minutes in the museum (and that includes unloading and reloading the busses so really more of just an hour in the museum). It's an absolute waste of time. After missing so many field trips and not even getting to go on one last year (other grades did but the 5th grade teachers planned nothing) it's such a disappointment. There are 6th graders going to Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and other interesting places and here we are stuck with the Portrait Gallery. And it's likely to be the one and only field trip.

It's such a bummer because once you're out of elementary school, there really are no other opportunities for these kinds of learning activities. We take our kids to a ton of different places but there was just always something so exciting about those field trips when you were a kid. Kind of like snow days. I guess they're a thing of the past.

Yes, it seems like they are. I get it, teachers are burnt out and kids don't behave, so kids don't get anything interesting at school. It's just learning from slides and misbehaving. If kids won't behave, then teachers aren't going to take them on field trips.

[Anonymous]

6th Grade teacher here home with a sick kid.

Every 6th grader goes to an assigned art museum that the county sets up. I will say some museums are better than others. We went to the Portrait Gallery this year and saw 5-9 portraits but the docents were excellent.

In the past we have taken a big field trip to Williamsburg, Pamplin Park or Philly. We have taken a break since Covid on the big field trips due to costs -$55-90 range per kid and maximizing instructional time. Plus last year was our first year back with a lot of protocols still in place. We did go to the high school for a musical performance and will be going to the middle school to visit before the end of the year.

Honestly, having done the big trips, the kids like being with their friends on the bus, not the actual field trip part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6th Grade teacher here home with a sick kid.

Every 6th grader goes to an assigned art museum that the county sets up. I will say some museums are better than others. We went to the Portrait Gallery this year and saw 5-9 portraits but the docents were excellent.

In the past we have taken a big field trip to Williamsburg, Pamplin Park or Philly. We have taken a break since Covid on the big field trips due to costs -$55-90 range per kid and maximizing instructional time. Plus last year was our first year back with a lot of protocols still in place. We did go to the high school for a musical performance and will be going to the middle school to visit before the end of the year.

Honestly, having done the big trips, the kids like being with their friends on the bus, not the actual field trip part.

+1

For the posters complaining about long bus rides, that's the best part for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6th Grade teacher here home with a sick kid.

Every 6th grader goes to an assigned art museum that the county sets up. I will say some museums are better than others. We went to the Portrait Gallery this year and saw 5-9 portraits but the docents were excellent.

In the past we have taken a big field trip to Williamsburg, Pamplin Park or Philly. We have taken a break since Covid on the big field trips due to costs -$55-90 range per kid and maximizing instructional time. Plus last year was our first year back with a lot of protocols still in place. We did go to the high school for a musical performance and will be going to the middle school to visit before the end of the year.

Honestly, having done the big trips, the kids like being with their friends on the bus, not the actual field trip part.

Does this include the 6the graders at Glasgow, Poe and Holmes or just those schools where 6th grade is in ES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems like only kids who go to wealthy FCPS ESes get field trips

Our school is in a well-off area and I'm still shocked by the cost of field trips that they expect us to pay for. For our school it's $90 each to go to Philadelphia (or in 1st grade they went to Mount Vernon, $80), and you pay double if a parent wants to chaperone. They have no lack of chaperones, so I guess the cost isn't really an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th Grade teacher here home with a sick kid.

Every 6th grader goes to an assigned art museum that the county sets up. I will say some museums are better than others. We went to the Portrait Gallery this year and saw 5-9 portraits but the docents were excellent.

In the past we have taken a big field trip to Williamsburg, Pamplin Park or Philly. We have taken a break since Covid on the big field trips due to costs -$55-90 range per kid and maximizing instructional time. Plus last year was our first year back with a lot of protocols still in place. We did go to the high school for a musical performance and will be going to the middle school to visit before the end of the year.

Honestly, having done the big trips, the kids like being with their friends on the bus, not the actual field trip part.

Does this include the 6the graders at Glasgow, Poe and Holmes or just those schools where 6th grade is in ES?

nobody cares about those weird schools, sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th Grade teacher here home with a sick kid.

Every 6th grader goes to an assigned art museum that the county sets up. I will say some museums are better than others. We went to the Portrait Gallery this year and saw 5-9 portraits but the docents were excellent.

In the past we have taken a big field trip to Williamsburg, Pamplin Park or Philly. We have taken a break since Covid on the big field trips due to costs -$55-90 range per kid and maximizing instructional time. Plus last year was our first year back with a lot of protocols still in place. We did go to the high school for a musical performance and will be going to the middle school to visit before the end of the year.

Honestly, having done the big trips, the kids like being with their friends on the bus, not the actual field trip part.

Does this include the 6the graders at Glasgow, Poe and Holmes or just those schools where 6th grade is in ES?

Every 6th grader in FCPS goes to an art museum. In the beginning of the year we get a sheet with our assigned museum and date. So that includes those schools.

[Anonymous]

On thing that has surprised me about FCPS is how few DC field trips there are. When I was a kid we went at least once a year and that was from Northern Anne Arundel County, MD think near BWI and that was before I 97 was built. We would be gone almost the whole day bit AA county contracted with Private bus companies so I guess more busses, once in a while we got upgraded to Charter buses.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I grew up in Manassas Park (POOR schools) and we went to DC at least twice a year! I don't understand why FCPS sucks so much.

[Anonymous]

Yes, my daughter was so excited to go on a field trip (she has never take one since being in FCPS from K on except things like nature walks around the neighborhood).

They stayed at the museum less than an hour. She said they saw three paintings and a sculpture. Said it was like a mean joke.