Don't Take Away our Field Trips!

An adequate education combines ample class instructional time and sufficient outside instructional exposure. This includes bookwork and interactive teaching in the classroom as well as taking class outings. It is a fact that taking students on field trips is expensive and in this time of economic deficiency, schools are looking for ways to save money. However, is it wise to cut field trips out of the school budget? School officials should not stop all field trips for the remainder of the year to save money because they’re essential to our education and easily findable; in fact, there are alternative ways to save money than just cutting field trips.

            By attending field trips, students are exposed to the world outside our classroom, making it an essential element of the learning process.  For example, for students in inner-city areas, it is one thing to study about the different types of artwork there are in the world but it is completely different to actually go to an art gallery and see the art in person. Field trips are, in essence, a connecting gateway between the world we live in and the rest of the world, full of wonder and academia of all kinds. School funded field trips are sometimes the only way some students can experience different activities and visit amazing places that seem far out of reach for them and their family. Not all families can take their children to visit colleges or museums for a variety of reasons. Also, extracurricular-wise, not many families can visit amusement parks such as Six Flags Magic Mountain or Universal Studios. The only way those students can even dream of attending those places is when the school itself takes it upon themselves to help broaden a student’s perception of their own community and the world around them.

            Officials would argue that although field trips are important, they are simply too expensive. Well, the answer to this is the students can raise the money for our field trips. There are countless options for us to fundraise and raise money to go on our field trips. We can sell pizza and other types of food during lunch to our fellow students, sell raffle tickets for small prizes, or even go around the school asking for small donations from our peers. We can also do talent shows or movie nights where the students have to pay to attend and participate. We can also be bold and write letters to business inquiring if they would like to sponsor our school or our specific activity and help lessen the cost of the trip. Believe me, if the trip is one of great interest to us, we will work harder than any school official could imagine because we are working for our own benefit and enjoyment. For all our hard work, we deserve to relax afterward with the desired field trip we worked for.

            If money and the school’s budget is the issue, I’d like to point out that there is more than one way to save money than just cutting eliminating field trips from the curriculum. A popular program many schools implement is recycling. School copy machines and teachers’ printers use a mass number of ink cartridges every year. These ink cartridges can be recycled and exchanged for money at different office supply stores for prices of $1-10.  Also, we can refill the cartridges for a price extremely cheaper than buying a brand new cartridge. If the school began later, money can be saved on electricity and teacher’s pay.  To make more money to offset the cost of other items, it would be an excellent idea to charge students for parking privileges in the school parking lot. Many seniors and a number of juniors have licenses and drive their cars to school and find it difficult to find parking near the school because we compete with the residents in the community for their spots. By charging a daily or monthly charge for parking lot privileges, schools can exploit this unfortunate battle and use this as another way to receive more much needed money.

            Should we be deprived of being exposed to the world outside of our classrooms solely on the reason that there isn’t money? I sincerely don’t think we should. There is only so much we can learn from books but unless we actually go out and actually touch, see, and smell what we’re learning, it’s not going to be effective. Students can raise money for their own field trips and the school itself can find other ways to save money and raise more of it themselves. The students shouldn’t be punished for the district’s stringent budget problems or the state’s lack of assistance.