Why are the field trips so underwhelming?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

You want to prevent a handful of moms from organizing their own Colonial Day why, exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher who has done field trips, as well as a parent- School buses have a very limited window so going into DC is incredibly difficult as you have such little time actually at your destination.

Trips like Gettysburg are funded by the parents and take coach buses, which are expensive. As a parent in a wealthy pyramid, our school goes on this. As a teacher in a heavily title 1 pyramid, this would not be possible. Equity between schools and pyramids is an issue that I have seen firsthand and field trips is a big one.

And I’ll give you one guess in which pyramids the parents in this thread saying their kids have a RIGHT to field trips send their kids 🙄

I am the one who said it and my kid was at w title 1 when I organized field trips.
I ended up transferring him to another better school and they didn’t really need my help there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

You want to prevent a handful of moms from organizing their own Colonial Day why, exactly?

Great idea. Get together and take your kids to Williamsburg. Leave the school out of it. You are free to do this any time you like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

I believe there are several posters advocating for field trips

[Anonymous]

So after reading the last few pages it is my impression that schools are now places where kids can sit on devices, do worksheets, and try their best to accommodate for bad behaviors of some of their peers who can’t be taken on field trips due to lack of staff to monitor said behaviors.
I don’t blame the teachers, they are just cogs in the kafkaesque system, but the overall outlook is pretty sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

Or the gift shop.

+100
Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

I'm the PPP and I think (?) the PP is saying we need to organize Colonial Day. Which would be great, but FCPS won't allow it anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are times I feel like that person…

Back in the 80’s and 90’s we had maybe one field trip a year and that was it. I don’t remember any in MS or HS. Field trips are not a necessity, they can be fun and educational but they are not mandatory.

Plenty of schools don’t have enough money to fund field trips and they don’t have PTAs that can run fund raising to provide field trips and after school activities. The PTA cannot do the paperwork associated with the field trip, that paperwork ends up being the backbone for any liability that might arise from the trip. Teachers are over worked as it is, adding on extra things is a lot. Kids behavior has gone downhill which makes field trips even more of a nightmare, do you think it is fun to watch the kids who are nightmares at school at a museum? Or Cox farm? Or any other location?

In my experience title 1 schools have enough funds but not enough manpower. These are the kids who need it the most. Make it happen if you can or advocate for it if you can’t

So you want the people who are already burdened and overextended… to give more?

No.
Parents need to volunteer or the school needs to hire a coordinator

FCPS schools all had to cut SPED positions this school year and you think there’s staffing money to hire a… field trip planner?

As posted earlier, Lewis HS appears to have a coordinator whose job is field trip planning for their academy program. They've arranged close to a hundred trips in three years - in my opinion that seems like having a field trip planner at every school is worth it, if that level of production is to be expected.

There is no “field trip planner” in the staff directory. The John Lewis Leadership Program has a manager and she is likely the one planning field trips FOR that program because the entire stated purpose of the program, which is housed at this one school, is “ real-world leadership development to all Lewis High School students through field trips, guest speakers, service projects, specialized coursework, internships, and university partnerships. Students access these experiences through their classes and as optional enrichment opportunities.”

How you think that one specific program with funding having a manager who plans trips because the entire purpose of the program is to be out in the community to learn leadership equates to FCPS hiring a “field trip coordinator” at every single school is magical thinking at a really childish level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

You want to prevent a handful of moms from organizing their own Colonial Day why, exactly?

Great idea. Get together and take your kids to Williamsburg. Leave the school out of it. You are free to do this any time you like.

Exactly what I suggested. School won’t do it, so parents should.

This is literally how homeschooling and homeschool co-ops start.
School won’t use phonics, parents teach reading themselves. Grammar education sucks, parents buy Well-Trained Mind and do it themselves. Field trips suck, parents organize a trip with others themselves.
Sooner or later they pull the kid out and do it all themselves! (Or find a suitable private) Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

I'm the PPP and I think (?) the PP is saying we need to organize Colonial Day. Which would be great, but FCPS won't allow it anymore.

Have one in someone’s backyard this summer.
It’s a great year to start a new tradition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

You want to prevent a handful of moms from organizing their own Colonial Day why, exactly?

Great idea. Get together and take your kids to Williamsburg. Leave the school out of it. You are free to do this any time you like.

Exactly what I suggested. School won’t do it, so parents should.

This is literally how homeschooling and homeschool co-ops start.
School won’t use phonics, parents teach reading themselves. Grammar education sucks, parents buy Well-Trained Mind and do it themselves. Field trips suck, parents organize a trip with others themselves.
Sooner or later they pull the kid out and do it all themselves! (Or find a suitable private) Lol

And that’s your choice. Public schools will never be able to provide everything you want because they have to serve all families, not just your own.

Also, schools were never meant to replace the family. You SHOULD be doing this type of thing on your own, and you shouldn’t be expecting the school to provide all of your kids’ experiences and opportunities for learning. If you need a place to outsource this work to, then perhaps a homeschooling co-op or a well-resourced private is a good choice for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A love of learning. Bringing history to life. Teachers excited to teach and show their student's the connection between what they are learning and the history around us.

So the “bringing history to life” is 45 minutes at the museum or site. The rest of the day is bus rides and organizing groups/meals.

Meanwhile, the teacher put in 3 weeks of planning and an aggravating amount of hours chasing permission slips. She then had to discipline students on the bus and at the exhibit. She had to constantly remind chaperones that they are on duty and can’t treat this as a fun vacation, and maybe they should get off their phones every now and then.

And all the kids will remember is singing on the bus ride.

DP. I’m a parent who has chaperoned many of these field trips and I couldn’t agree more. Some of them are, sadly, just a huge waste of time and effort.

I also mentioned earlier that I thought Colonial Day was FAR more fun and informative for the kids than a useless day spent on a bus to and from Jamestown. Of course, FCPS stupidly stopped allowing Colonial Day, so that is not an option anymore.

Time to get some moms together and organize one.
You have to accept that there are increasingly things that school won’t provide.

NO! They are a waste of time for almost all kids in FCPS. I do not understand why Field Trip mom is so hot on this.

You want to prevent a handful of moms from organizing their own Colonial Day why, exactly?

Great idea. Get together and take your kids to Williamsburg. Leave the school out of it. You are free to do this any time you like.

Exactly what I suggested. School won’t do it, so parents should.

This is literally how homeschooling and homeschool co-ops start.
School won’t use phonics, parents teach reading themselves. Grammar education sucks, parents buy Well-Trained Mind and do it themselves. Field trips suck, parents organize a trip with others themselves.
Sooner or later they pull the kid out and do it all themselves! (Or find a suitable private) Lol

And that’s your choice. Public schools will never be able to provide everything you want because they have to serve all families, not just your own.

Also, schools were never meant to replace the family. You SHOULD be doing this type of thing on your own, and you shouldn’t be expecting the school to provide all of your kids’ experiences and opportunities for learning. If you need a place to outsource this work to, then perhaps a homeschooling co-op or a well-resourced private is a good choice for you.

So, you are going to home school because your child is not going on field trips?

Most field trips are a waste of time and money. Former teacher. Not all, but most.

Trips to Williamsburg are a total waste. Hours on the bus and a short walkthrough with a guide. We took our kids ourselves. Great trip.

[Anonymous]

This is common across school districts around the country, particularly after Covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are times I feel like that person…

Back in the 80’s and 90’s we had maybe one field trip a year and that was it. I don’t remember any in MS or HS. Field trips are not a necessity, they can be fun and educational but they are not mandatory.

Plenty of schools don’t have enough money to fund field trips and they don’t have PTAs that can run fund raising to provide field trips and after school activities. The PTA cannot do the paperwork associated with the field trip, that paperwork ends up being the backbone for any liability that might arise from the trip. Teachers are over worked as it is, adding on extra things is a lot. Kids behavior has gone downhill which makes field trips even more of a nightmare, do you think it is fun to watch the kids who are nightmares at school at a museum? Or Cox farm? Or any other location?

In my experience title 1 schools have enough funds but not enough manpower. These are the kids who need it the most. Make it happen if you can or advocate for it if you can’t

So you want the people who are already burdened and overextended… to give more?

No.
Parents need to volunteer or the school needs to hire a coordinator

FCPS schools all had to cut SPED positions this school year and you think there’s staffing money to hire a… field trip planner?

As posted earlier, Lewis HS appears to have a coordinator whose job is field trip planning for their academy program. They've arranged close to a hundred trips in three years - in my opinion that seems like having a field trip planner at every school is worth it, if that level of production is to be expected.

Sorry, are you saying we hire 200 field trip coordinators.

I volunteer for that role!

And now we are 200 teachers short.

We are short classroom teachers because of Gatehouse. Cut half the people at Gatehouse and then use the savings for classroom teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Appropriated funds cannot be used for field trips. This means parents have to fund buses and any entrance fees. Or there have to be fundraisers and/or PTA subsidies. There are some grant funded trips such as all the fourth graders going to the Kennedy Center and all sixth graders going to the Portrait Gallery.

Different grade levels at different schools go on different trips that are connected to the curriculum. Our 4th grade visits Jamestown and 6th grade goes to Gettysburg. First grade studies animals and visits the National Zoo.

My kid's elementary doesn’t do Jamestown anymore. They went to Luray Caverns, which returned an hour after school got out. My kid is really into history so I was telling my kid that some schools do still go there for a field trip. My kid said the teacher said they can't go anymore because Jamestown has a gift shop. What?!

I thought that fcps dropped Jamestown and a lot of other cool historical fieldtrips when the school board decided the district was anti founding fathers and anti colonialism.

They used to do cool field trips like Jamestown and Richmond to see statuary row, the Virginia history museum, and the church where Patrick Henry gave his famous speech. But those field trips preesented the founding fathers and early settlers in a positive light, which doesn't align with fcps values, so they were nixed.

Where did you hear that? The school board never made such a decision and those trips have never been district-wide. Individual schools and grade level teams decide which trips they are going to take.

PP is making things up. My DC went to Jamestown 2 years ago. It was probably $80 per kid to pay for a tour bus, so I can see why all schools don’t do it.

Oh yes, they’re totally making things up. I went with my 4th grader to Jamestown a few months ago, like in May 2025. It’s amazing how people post gossip and rumors as facts.

It sounds like the schools with wealthy PTAs or good principals still go, but the other ones have been allowed to quietly cancel and avoid the hassle.

Judging from experience in a different district there needs to be parental pressure for the trips, that’s why poor schools get the short end of the stick. They have the funds just not political will or manpower to organize one

I think most parents just expect the schools to organize field trips as part of the curriculum and don't realize they are somehow (?) supposed to agitate for what used to be a normal part of the school experience.

Agree. It would never occur to me that I, a parent, am supposed to lobby for field trips.

Well now you know. You can choose to pout about it or take the matter into your own hands

If you are so keen on field trips, why don't you take your child yourself?

Believe me, they are not that valuable.

When my child was in elementary he didn’t want to go anywhere with me, for reasons unknown. He was much more amenable if his classmates were going as well.
Also I wanted poorer kids to see something they wouldn’t with their parents.
That’s why I organized field trips.
Yes it’s pain in the neck for teachers but sometimes one has to inconvenience people to get what is needed.

🙄