Yesterday, I visited a school, where the students were displaying dioramas that they constructed based on endangered species. At one display, I asked a girl if she had ever seen a polar bear. She said no. I asked her if she had seen one at the zoo. She responded that she had never been to the zoo. Before I could comment, the boy next to her, also stated that he had never been to the zoo. The girl had wanted to go, but the field trip cost 12 dollars and it was too much! 12 dollars!!
This broke my heart, to the point, that I had a dream last night that I rented a bus and took every single student that had never been to the zoo!
This made me reflect on a previous job where the principal did not believe that money should be wasted on field trips but instead be used for TAKS prep. Even when I located free field trips, I was told that the time could not be put aside for "such things" with testing and all.
Where has education gone? Since when has teaching moved from the enjoyment in a child's eyes due to a new experience to counting the "bubble kids" and calculating how much money they will bring to our pockets.
It sadden me. Very much so.
Uncertainty
14 years ago
You're right to be saddened by the denial of opportunities to see the world outside the classroom that is imposed on children by administrators whose sole focus is test scores. We are obligated as educators to address the wider needs of our students than can be achieved through test prep and even tex books. Isn't the role of social studies to create future citizens of this global community of ours? How are they to gain a perspecitive of a wider family of man if they never get to experience even what their own community has to offer. This is such a shame when small opportunities have the potential to make such a difference. I know you can't touch them all, but your caring is well founded.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Heather ...that is a nightmare! Some administrators just don't see the importance of fieldtrips. With too much TAKS pressure being placed on their shoulders, they fail to see that fieldtrips can also add value to the learning experience of a child.
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