Mrs. Sharon Fixler
Assistant Principal, Ulpanat Orot
If you have a daughter at Ulpana, then you know that this past week we went on a school trip to see the critically acclaimed musical Come From Away. The next day in my Grade 9 English class, I facilitated a discussion with the students on their impressions of the play. I was expecting students to ask about particular interpretations of historical events, or to discuss their favourite moments from the play, so I was surprised when one girl raised her hand to ask: “Mrs. Fixler, why did the school even take us to see the play?”
As any educator will tell you, these “bigger picture” questions inspire a fair amount of reflective thought in teachers. So, I got to thinking: why do we REALLY go on field trips? Is there actual value to these outings away from school? How do we even have time for these trips, when we have a rigorous dual curriculum to cover? And what about the students who “skip” school trips, deciding that the “time off from learning” is more valuably spent doing school work?
In all honesty, in my first few years of teaching, I myself dismissed such trips as a “waste of time,” since there was so much curriculum to cover, and so little time to cover it.
But, over the years, and after chaperoning many varied trips (from Stratford to the symphony to the Science Center), I have come to see the tremendous value and opportunity in taking our students out of our school buildings and into the “real world.” I have seen that the time away from learning is a myth, when so much learning can be done while actually on the trips.
And my anecdotal evidence is backed by research. In fact, the U.S. Travel Association recently conducted a study with 400 adults (balanced for gender, age, race and income), half of whom had taken a school trip in their youth, and the other half had not.
The study found that, regardless of gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, youth who take educational trips have better grades (59%), higher graduation rates from high school (95%) and college (63%), and greater income (12% higher annually). More impressively, 89% said school field trips had a “positive, lasting impact on their education and career because the trips made them more engaged, intellectually curious and interested in and out of school.”
Beyond the ability for students to be actively engaged in their learning while on a field trip, I also love the opportunity that we have as a Jewish school to make a Kiddush HaShem (sanctifying of G-d’s name), as visibly Jewish ambassadors. Wherever we go, our chaperoning staff regularly receives compliments on the behaviour of our students and their level of interaction on the trip.
I also love the chance that our students receive to learn about and experience the world outside of the usual bubble of their daily lives, including hearing from diverse speakers like trauma survivors at Sunnybrook or participating in a TIFF filming workshop. These experiences are character-enriching, sparking a greater sense of empathy and human connectivity in our students, and also culturally enriching, giving our students opportunities that they may not regularly get on their own.
Ultimately, I think that participating in field trips at Bnei Akiva Schools has shown me that our tagline: “So much more than a school” perfectly encapsulates our desire to educate the whole child, beyond the confines of the Ontario Ministry curriculum.
Therefore, while a field trip may constitute a much-needed break from regular classroom learning, my hope is that parents and students come to appreciate field trips for all of the many ways these excursions provide authentic, hands-on learning experiences outside of the classroom.
