Submitted By: Katherine Han
I still remember when I was in elementary school, my favorite thing in the world was going on field trips. It meant a day full of fun spent with my friends, and no school. We didn’t have field trips every day, but we had them at least once or twice a semester. As I moved on into middle school and into junior high, field trips became more and more scarce, until eventually we stopped having field trips entirely. I believe that field trips should be continued in middle school because it can be a great learning experience and it’s a time to spend time with friends and just relax.
One reason that field trips should still continue into middle school is that it could be a great learning experience. Field trips don’t always have to be to some amusement park, it could also be a trip with a purpose. For example, it could be a trip to a history museum that relates to what we are learning in school. Or a trip to a science museum like the California Museum of Science, which is an educational museum that includes a ton of interesting things to see and learn about. With field trips, we get a fun, hands-on activity that can reinforce what we are learning. Just sitting in a classroom and learning facts from a dry textbook isn’t necessarily the best way to learn new material. A field trip allows hands-on, visual learning that can help us relax and learn better.
Another reason field trips should be continued is because it’s a time to relax and spend time with friends. As we get older, school life just gets more and more tight, and we get less free time. Field trips would be a nice break from school and would allow us to learn. Even with lunch time during school, everyone is too busy to spend a lot of time hanging out with friends. Field trips would be a time to spend with friends and bond with the class.
Some people say that field trips cost too much money and often the school can’t afford it. A solution could be to have every student who wants a field trip to donate some money towards the trip. That way everyone can contribute a little towards getting a field trip. Another way could be to host bake sales and have students bring in baked goods and sell them at school.
Overall, I think that field trips are a worthy thing, something I’ve enjoyed since elementary school and would love to enjoy in middle school too.
-Katherine Han