Opinion: Field trips should be more common

Students+riding+a+bus+to+a+field+trip+for+the+main+purpose+of+getting+real+life+experiences+should+be+more+common+in+this+day+and+age.

Photo illustration by Henry Pham

Students riding a bus to a field trip for the main purpose of getting real life experiences should be more common in this day and age.

As a junior, I’ve mostly forgotten what it was like to take a field trip during the school day and enjoy an out-of-school experience. However, on Sept. 28, I had my first field trip in the last three years because of COVID-19. I got to experience a golf PGA tour for my sports marketing class, and while it wasn’t my first choice for a field trip, it still was very informative about the ins-and-outs of golf tours. After the field trip ended, it left me thinking: why don’t high schools provide more opportunities to learn further about different careers?

Schools do a decent job at teaching what they need to teach in schools, but the classroom is not always the most efficient way to help a student prepare for after graduation. From personal experience, I find physically doing something can help people better understand how something works. For example, if a teacher were to tell you about how filming works, it would be more beneficial to see how a filmer’s day-to-day work is like. Taking that peek into their job would better help me retain the information and see if I would be interested in furthering that field. Being able to handle the equipment would also give more opportunities to really learn specific features, since you not only get hands-on experience, but you also get a more firm understanding of all the tools and resources that go into the process. Not only would you be able to handle those tools, but would get that advice on the career from someone who knows the field top to bottom.

A study conducted by the University of Arkansas found, “financial pressures force schools to make difficult decisions about how to allocate scarce resources, and field trips are increasingly seen as an unnecessary frill.” However, I think it should be the complete opposite, because field trips, especially those centered around touring potential careers for students, help expand the thoughts and futures for students. While money can be a determining factor, not all trips have to be expensive to attend. The opportunity I was given to go to the golf tour was free, and if our administration looks in the right place, we can find other opportunities for many different classes.

The harsh reality of the situation that we, as students, are in is that there isn’t enough priority placed on field trips. The school values produce a better in-school experience than trying to find opportunities to expand our minds outside of school. Our teachers and our administrators should be held accountable for these lack of field trips. Who wouldn’t value a chance to leave school for a day to learn and experience a certain career that you find highly interesting?

Students attending field trips will get a better understanding of whatever field they are trying to get into. Especially with so many options in classes at Hebron, there are numerous opportunities to get a head start on the career you want to pursue. However, sometimes students need an extra push. These trips, while normally far and few, can hopefully become a normal staple of high schools helping to further knowledge of students’ futures beyond graduation.