Semester Essay #5: Fieldtrips

Dear Mrs. Brown,

Education is the basic tool needed every day for the rest of each individual’s life. Students learn the basic subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, History; and they study other subjects to enhance their learning, such as a foreign language or a performing arts or visual arts course. High schools used to have many electives, internships, and other options to help a student explore a certain interest. Now, since there are too many budget cuts in education in the state of California, there are not enough school supplies or teachers to help provide good quality education. Therefore, if you cancel all fieldtrips for the remainder of the year, the students at City Honors College Preparatory Charter School will not be able to gain a new learning experience hands-on.

Fieldtrips are a good way for students to learn about a particular subject. Students can get the visual idea on the topic discussed in class and will be able to understand fully on any details he or she is unsure about. For example, a group of students in Mr. Washington’s Physics class learned about Newton’s three laws, gravitational force, and the motion of any solid object. One student suggested a fieldtrip to Six Flags because it was fun and everyone will be able to understand the concepts in great detail. At the end of the year, all of Mr. Washington’s and Mr. Harden’s Physics classes went on a trip to Six Flags. The students enjoyed themselves and they had a much clearer idea on what they were learning in Physics for the entire year.

Fieldtrips give students a break from in-class learning. Teenagers have a short attention span and can get easily distracted especially during a long boring lecture. Going on a fieldtrip can not only give the students fresh air; it can open the students’ eyes to an engaging experience. Students love to do something with their hands to create or build something or go on an excursion to see their school-learning brought into life.

Finally, fieldtrips can prevent the troublemakers in the classrooms from disrupting the teachers and other students. Once a troublemaker is able to do something within their interest, he or she will be engaged and be able to tell the teachers everything they know about the topic with excitement. Fieldtrips are good opportunities for troublemakers who barely had any help in their education. They will be able to express their thoughts intelligently with much hope and confidence.

Education is always a number one priority in anyone’s life, since the amount of education students obtain will lead them to the opportunities available. Instead of cutting fieldtrips that will give a disadvantage to the students who need it, we can come up with fundraising ideas to help raise money for those trips. Without fieldtrips, students will be bored of learning and more likely cause trouble in the classroom, which prevents other students from learning as well. Fieldtrips are a method of expanding a child’s learning to a new higher level.

Sincerely,

Alexis Jackson