By Shona Ganguly and Brian Detering
Senior Writer and Staff Writer

Remember those day-trips to the museum in fourth grade and Outdoor Education camps in fifth grade? Those were the days when learning was not confined to desks, whiteboards, pens, pencils and books. Nowadays, field trips have taken the back seat to pure in-class work. While budget and transportation problems have made it difficult to have field trips, the school should make field trips a priority in students’ educations. Only about 12 to 15 field trips occur each year.

Many students have never even been on a field trip during their time at the school. Field trips connect the concepts in books and the classroom to the outside world and validate ideas that would otherwise be disconnected in a student’s mind.

“Teachers have to start the process [of a field trip]. The administrators just help it along. If they find it beneficial to the classes [to have a field trip], the teachers usually [do start] the process,” Karen Gateuil, Principal George Perez’s secretary and former Head-Coordinator of field trips, said.

Some teachers may want to take their students on field trips but do not have the resources. However, it is mostly teacher initiative that drives field trips, since trip requests are rarely denied. The problem behind the lack of field trips is the severe lack of initiative and time.

“If teachers don’t get their requests [for field trips] in, buses are not available. If it didn’t go through, it’s probably because of a delay,” Gateuil said.

Instead of focusing on testing or how much time has been cut off of the semester, teachers should aim to enhance the learning process.

Even amidst the state’s budget cuts, field trips should be made a priority.

Visiting a historical site, museum or play nearly always has more of an impact than a lecture about such an event. What is gained from field trips is much more beneficial and will remain with students for years to come.

After all, memories of those fourth grade field trips to the museum, the zoo or the planetarium stay with students to this day.