I was given my first heads-up about our big seventh grade field trip a few days after I started teaching. You may remember those days. You were about to prove that you were the Greatest Teacher Ever. Your classroom looked like the Greatest Classroom Ever. Your plan book would soon win a Pulitzer for Most Awesome Lessons Ever. Fresh-faced and brimming with enthusiasm for all the golden days ahead, you surveyed the landscape of your public school fiefdom and thought, “Field trip? Yes, field trip! The most enjoyable field trip in what is sure to become a long line of terrific, memorable, educational, and well-behaved field trips!”
That was August. I was reminded again of the big seventh grade field trip in February or March, with D-day itself just a month away. As my fellow teacher handed me a stack of permission slips, a big smile on his face, he reminded me, “We have our field trip coming up. Have you given any thought to how you want to handle it?”
Yes. Yes, I had. By this time, I thought the best way to handle it was to hire some US Army Green Berets, fresh from honorable discharge, to go in our places. What perfect chaperones! One Special Forces veteran to every four seventh graders seemed like a manageable ratio.
The intervening days were then filled with violent trepidation, the busy collection of late permission slips, the arrangement of proper medical supplies, and more fevered dreams of a field trip gone awry than I could possibly recount. I swear my normally decent, ragtag band of hormonally-challenged and newly-minted teenagers were spending most of their free time plotting a coup d’etat against me that would result in my being thrown from the bus somewhere down interstate 495.
In the end, the field trip happened as scheduled sans Green Berets. There were no arrests.
So, that field trip may not have been the first in a long line of the Coolest Field Trips Ever. In fact, it may be remembered (by me, at least) as the Day a Historic Settlement Was Forever Ruined. Was it really that terrible? No. Did it go off without a hitch? Logistically, pretty much. Was there redeeming educational enrichment? Yes, more than likely. Did I enjoy myself? I’ll never divulge that secret.
All that to say it’s Field Trip Season. Share your stories of Field Trip Success or Field Trip Fiasco with us here at the Upper Grades Exchange. One lucky commenter will be chosen at random to win a free book from The Mailbox Books. Please submit your own field trip story by May 1, 2011, to be eligible. You may submit more than one story. You do not have to be an upper grades teacher to participate.
I was a student teacher a few years ago and took my third graders to a pioneer farm to learn about life before electricity and modern conveniences. We toured the old house, churned butter, ground corn, and learned about farming. In the barn area, my students were allowed to jump off a low hay loft into a pile of straw. Well, being the “cool” teacher I decided to jump too. I climbed up, walked to the edge, and jumped. I am no spring chicken so I landed like a ton of bricks and turned my ankle. I could barely walk for the rest of the day. I have learned to let the kids be the kids and I will faithfully watch my kids from the safety of the floor!
My field trip was a great success-my first graders had penpals during the year. After writing several letters (they loved getting mail and writing responses to questions they were asked) we arranged to MEET our penpals on a field trip. Wow! That was such a special day for my kids. They learned about their penpal with writing the letters and all, but to get to meet them face to face, have lunch, ice cream sundaes-my kids all voted that was their favorite field trip that year! I remember one student said, “Gosh, I know for sure he read my letters I wrote to him!” I loved it and it didn’t cost anything-we mailed the letters through the courier and the kids only had to send a few dollars for gas money.
A memorable field trip for me was traveling one hour in an unairconditioned school but to an outdoor desert museum. As the children began filing off the bus ( finally), I noticed that 3 of them looked a bit strange. CHICKEN POX!
My fiasco was last year when I took my students on a trip to our state capital city. We were going and coming back in the same day, about 3 hrs each way (I know I was crazy). We had a great day in the city, but on our drive back home it started raining cats and dogs. We were in 2 cars and got split up and due to tornado warnings and thunderstorms parents were freaking out…in all we made it back safely, but 4 hours after we were supposed to arrive!! Never again.
It was my first year teaching in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had taken over for a teacher in who left mid year. I was so excited to be working with in fourth grade and to have a job. A couple months after starting, we went on our yearly field trip to the Hoover Dam. The kids and I were super excited to go see this marvel, unfortunately we never made it to the Dam. The drive to the Hoover Dam is about 1 hour from our school. We had just made it outside Boulder City, Nevada when a student from the back of the bus stood up and said he didn’t feel well. As he started to walk to the front of the bus he passed out in the aisle. We quickly pulled the bus over and called 911. To make a long story short we spent the day sitting at a casino in the middle of no where waiting for the ambulance. The teacher who’s class made the trip with us went to the hospital with her student (who ended up being ok), while I got to return to the school with 60+ students and chaperones (some of who where sleeping). I was convinced I would never, never take another field trip. I am happy to say that we rescheduled the trip, made it to the Dam with one else getting sick and had a fabulous time. I have now been to the Dam with my class for the last 6 years. It has become a tradition at our school and the students love it. It is the one field trip that every parent wants to attend.
Did anyone ever win?