As I prepare – quite last minute, I must admit – for my field trip to Trinidad, I decided to write about what I think the importance of field trips are.
Field trips are not a new concept. It is perhaps, one of the best ways for students to see the application of their knowledge in real life. One of the biggest complaints students have is that they can’t understand how what they’re learning will apply to their lives. When will I use organic chemistry? What’s the purpose of learning about dialects and linguistics? However, by going on relevant trips, students are able to see what they’ve been learning in practice. The can see organic chemistry principles being used in a pharmaceutical lab, or they can see the interaction of different dialects in a marketplace. It helps the students understand topics much more deeply, and gives them a perspective, which cannot be attained from just textbooks. They don’t just learn what, but they learn why. “Why is this important?” “How will this help me?” These are some of the questions that are answered by field trips. When students understand the answers to these questions, they are more likely to want to study.
Sometimes, field trips provide students with knowledge that they could not else have obtained. For example, in Caribbean countries such as Guyana, it is no hidden fact that all of our schools don’t have the best of resources. It is the reality. Sometimes there are concepts that need to be explained for the syllabuses that require equipment that the school may not have. Rather than just learning the theory, it helps for the students to take a trip to a lab, or even to another school that does have the equipment so that they can see how it works. It is easier to remember something that you’ve done (or seen done) than something that you’ve just read about.
Finally, school trips help to build memories and character. Often times, school trips take us to places that we would not ordinarily go. They push us out of our comfort zones and force us to interact with people of different cultures. We learn how to spend extended time with persons who aren’t related to us, and we may even become more tolerant of other people’s behaviours, which will be incredibly useful in the future, especially in college and in the workplace. Students become closer friends with each other, and they make memories that may last for lifetimes.
So yes, while school trips, especially long ones, may take away from traditional teaching time and may be expensive, if done right, they are definitely worthwhile.
