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It's a long stretch until March Break. Field trips look like they might be the only highlight of the school calendar for many kids. Do teachers love them or hate them? We asked two high-school teachers for their insights.
Toronto high-school teacher who has been teaching for five years:
The paperwork. Oh, the paperwork
Fields trips are dreaded by most of my colleagues. The hoops that must be jumped through just to get four to five pages of paperwork accomplished is overwhelming, let alone the collection of funds and the actual trip. Step 1. Set up field trip with said institution. Step 2. Find necessary forms. Steps 3-10. Fill out forms; fill out forms you never knew existed; fill out sections of the forms that weren't necessary the last time that you had a trip, but are now essential; collect money for trip, hound kids for outstanding money for said trip.
The reason why we as teachers continue to go on field trips despite the nightmare paperwork is that the kids lovethem, and that (in my experience) some of the most authentic learning experiences take place outside the classroom.
Ottawa high-school teacher who has been teaching more than 20 years:
And yet, stirring moments
Ottawa is great for field trips, especially for high-school history teachers. I have taken my students to the War Museum and the Diefenbunker [Cold War Museum]numerous times. And, of course, our civics students go to Question Period once during the course. All these, I am sure, have enriched their classroom experience. When going to a museum, however, I always prepare an activity that they can do in groups that will ensure they have to read and think about the exhibits, and I always schedule a talk with a veteran, which is an excellent program the [War]Museum offers. The students are stirred by hearing someone talk about landing a craft on the beaches of Dieppe and seeing a grown man moved to silence or even to tears close to 70 years later. Yes, field trips can be logistically difficult, but we schedule them rarely and try to make them meaningful. In terms of longer trips, I have taken my students to Washington, New York and Boston. These can be very difficult and time-consuming to plan and of course take me away from my family, but they are also very rewarding and fulfilling.
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