Within Pace, school field trips are offered to juniors and seniors more than the underclassmen, who are stuck at their desks for hours on end.
Freshmen and sophomores do not get offered to go on some of these trips due to limited space or teachers not having a strong relationship with students that are not in their class.
Teachers need to organize and facilitate trips for education, fun and student engagement.
Some seniors and juniors have been taken out of the building for a handful of class trips. These include AP environmental science, the Pace University English class and the drama elective. Meanwhile, most freshmen and sophomores only have been on one non-educational trip.
Ms. Meghan, a special education teacher, said, “I think trips are essential to learning. For example, if you are taking earth science, there’s so much you can learn at the Natural History Museum.”
According to studies, school trips are beneficial for students because they are able to connect to the real world. Trips also improve student engagement and attendance.
In addition, research also shows that they increase students’ social-emotional learning because school trips often use communication and problem solving skills to improve community.
According to the Education Endowment Foundation, students tend to remember information better when it is learned in a real-world context. School trips provide opportunities for students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical situations, contributing to improved retention of information.
Sophomore Claire Rutledge stated, “We should go on more trips we’re always in the building.”
Most teachers wish that the school had the funding to take students on trips. Ms. Gold, chemistry and health teacher, stated, “It’s like a road block and it can get really frustrating.”
“I like the idea of pairing up with other classes so doing maybe a chemistry and global history; looking at the science and trends behind New York City but also the history behind it.”
While some teachers say that school trips are good for learning, others don’t like them because there aren’t enough days in the school year to learn the entire curriculum. Teachers don’t plan trips especially for one-year courses like math, such as algebra one and two and geometry. Due to the Regents exams and how many days that are available during the school year, the chances of teaching the entirety of the curriculum within ten months is nearly impossible. Teachers say that it’s crucial that we use every day available to prepare for the regents.
At Pace, out of school learning is very important to engage students, increase attendance, and show more real-world learning in all environments.
If teachers were able to take the time to learn the importance behind how trips are beneficial, maybe they would plan more trips. Students believe it would give us a higher learning experience and make us more invested to learn.
