We believe that high school students should have more opportunities to go on field trips. 

Field trips provide students with valuable learning opportunities that go past the walls of a classroom. Students gain memories, experiences, and hands-on learning from all the exciting trips they take.

One of the many benefits of field trips is getting first-hand experience. A teacher can only do so much in a classroom and field trips allow students to break out of that barrier and explore. An example of this is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial field trip juniors took this year where students got to experience the emotion and gravity of the memorial in person rather than through a computer screen. Being able to see the impact of historical structures in person allows for students to see first-hand evidence of events from our past and the impact they had on our present.

Leaving the classroom exposes students to new environments and cultures, which can broaden their perspectives and promote empathy and understanding. Some of these experiences can even inspire students to pursue new interests and career paths.

Field trips not only give us valuable learning experiences but also memories we can take along the way. Some of our greatest school memories have been from field trips when we were younger, whether it be exploring Jamestown or staring in awe at the fish of the Baltimore Aquarium. Field trips help us to make connections we never would have had before them and gain relationships that last long past the day of the trip.

Some students aren’t able to get out as much as others and field trips offer a place for them to escape. Breaking the routine of being in your home and school is very meaningful to those who don’t get the opportunity very often and it gives students a new environment to traverse. These new experiences can be life-changing, giving powerful childhood memories 

away from school grounds. Being able to branch out can also introduce students to people who aren’t in their class periods, helping them to make more friends.

Overall, field trips give students the opportunity to learn in ways taking notes in a classroom can’t, whether that be making new friends, getting first-hand experience, or finding a new interest. We as a community need to prioritize more methods of education that make us excited to learn and create more memorable experiences we can take with us forever.