The Value of Field Trips

As a parent, I have taken my children for many checkups over the years. One consistent reminder that I have always been told from pediatricians, is that children develop at different rates. One child may excel physically, such as walking at an early age; while another child the exact same age may have strong intellectual achievements. Children are stimulated by different forms of learning. Some may learn from social interaction, impersonation, visual aids, and hands on activities; others by repetition, reading, and oral discussion. Each of those learning techniques should be expressed in school. One particular form that I feel strongly about is field trips. They are a great way to reach children and keep their minds working. Not only are they enjoyable for the children but also stimulating and thought provoking.

I believe that it is a necessity that school systems reach every need of our children. The Longitudinal Teacher Survey of 1997 discovered that 60% of classroom

exercises are ones with pen and paper done individually. I feel that an experience outside of the classroom makes a great impact on young minds. Field trips are an excellent way to drive home material that they have learned. A trip to a science museum after learning about electrons or an outing to a local theatre to see Romeo and Juliet after reading it in English class could really be beneficial for students of all ages.

Do you believe that a field trip can actually benefit students intellectually and improve test scores? A recent article by Javier Hernandez published in The New York Times on October 20, 2009 entitled “A Moo-Moo Here, and Better Test Scores Later” addresses that very question. In Hernandez’s article he observes a ...

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...hat form the shape on an object placed underneath it was one of my favorites and I just had to buy one from the museum gift shop. You see, I was one of those children that got to enjoy a field trip. The knowledge and enjoyment has been carried with me throughout my years. Not just the fun we all had but the information we learned left a lasting impression on. I can only hope that my own child as well as yours can have experiences like those of the Harlem Success Academy.

Works Cited

Hernandez, Javier C. “A Moo-Moo Here, and Better Test Scores Later”. New York Times 20,

October 2009. Web 18, February 2010.

Nabors, Martha PH.D.; Edwards, Linda Carol ED.D.; Murray, R. Kent ED.D.

“Making the Case for Field Trips: What Research Tells Us What Site Coordinators Have

To Say”. Web 24, February 2010.