Reply to Why are the field trips so underwhelming?

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Reply to "Why are the field trips so underwhelming?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

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?![/quote]

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.[/quote]

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. [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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.  [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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 [/quote]

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

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

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

Believe me, they are not that valuable.[/quote]

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. [/quote]

As a teacher, I can attest to the fact that it is not an "inconvenience," it is frequently a waste of time and effort.
There is very little value in most field trips.

Yes, the needy kids may benefit, but I doubt if your child is a "needy" kid.  Do you really think your child will get more benefit by going to the Smithsonian (for two hours max) with a group of kids and a couple of horus on a bus, than he would with your family?  Honestly, your post reveals more about your family dynamics than it does about an "inconvenienced" teacher.

I taught very, very poor kids for several years.  Yes.  Field trips were a good thing for them.  But, the simple ones were best.  A walk to the fire station and talking with the firemen and having them show their equipment was one of the best field trips ever.  But, taking your kid to the Smithsonian or Williamsburg for hours on a bus--not so much.

Your post just indicates poor parenting.  If your child needs field trips, there is something seriously wrong with your family dynamics.

Yes, there is value for needy kids, but this is not a fight you need to make.

Ask the teachers what they would really like for their classes.  I'd be very surprised if any of them said that their students really need field trips.[/quote]

I agree with you on the value of simple field trips, they are good for non needy kids as well.
What I don’t agree with is you shifting the blame and accusing me of poor parenting. Isn’t it the same as saying “oh teachers are just lazy, that’s why they can’t be bothered with field trips”? 
Btw my kid became a homebody after he started public school. I can easily see him being overwhelmed and traumatized by the system because when he stayed home during covid he was much more willing to travel and get out in general, and generally chilled out significantly to my surprise. 
About asking the teachers what they need - the PTA did that and they would ask for rugs for example. Not a high priority for my family, sorry. 
I am a huge proponent of teachers know best but there are limited exceptions to this rule. One of them being the importance of field trips, even if they aren’t fancy as you rightly said. [/quote]

DP.

I simply see you shifting your responsibilities to the teacher. You claim your child “became a homebody” after starting public school. Isn’t that your responsibility to address? The teachers can’t impact your child at home, where he is a “homebody.” It seems as if you want the obligation to provide experiences to fall on the teacher, meaning you don’t have to do it yourself.

And it seems you want public schools tailored specifically to you. (That rug comment was telling.) That’s not how school works. [/quote]

This was merely a response to the teacher PP who accused me of poor parenting. Of course I don’t have a way of telling whether the school was to blame for how my child was for a few years.

Also I was willing to do the brunt of it myself, and it’s not like mine was the only kid who benefited.

I don’t want schools tailored “specifically to me” whatever that means.
They just need to maybe look out for the kids for once? They don’t hesitate to test the heck out of the kids but they can’t do a field trip?! [/quote]

They look out for kids every hour of every day. Teachers provide plenty of experiences within the classroom, many at great personal expense of time and money.

There are logistical reasons why the teacher can’t just drop everything and plan a trip for you: bus requirements, funding, the school calendar, etc. If it’s so important to you that your child gets these specific experiences, then I recommend you plan them independent of the school. You’re welcome to take classmates, too. Work it out for a weekend or school holiday, bypassing the teacher and the requirements she needs to deal with that you don’t. Then your child gets the trip and you get to plan it. A win for you, right?[/quote]

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