The Importance of Field Trips

I just got back from chaperoning a ski trip to Lake Placid, NY. On the bus ride, we watched the movie Miracle, about the 1980 gold medal US Olympic hockey team, and then the students got to see the Herb Brooks Arena, where the games took place. The combination of the historical lesson from the movie and the hands-on experience of the actual location made for a great experience that could not have been replicated in the classroom alone. While the purpose of the trip was to ski at one of the premiere resorts in the East, and not to teach history, it was certainly an added bonus, and it got me thinking about the importance of field trips.

I will be running trips to Vermont and Maine this winter for the school, as well as helping chaperone a trip to see a production of A Tale of Two Cities for the students who read the novel in their English classes this year. Within the constraints of today's school budgets, and with the overemphasis on test scores making class time appear to be at a premium, it can be very difficult to convince school administrators to approve student travel, educational or experiential. Fortunately for us, our district has leadership that seems to appreciate the importance of the field trip. But for those who don't find themselves so lucky, here are a few reasons why teachers should fight to keep field trips.


Developing a better sense of the world around us
Traveling to a different city or country helps students realize that people have different customs, traditions, and ways of doing things. Being told this doesn't leave as long-lasting an impression as experiencing it first hand. Ordering food at a restaurant that serves different foods than a student is accustomed to, speaking a different language, or experiencing a different climate, all teach about life in different environments. Enabling students to interact first-hand with people from diverse backgrounds and locations not only makes them more worldly and understanding of our differences, it helps show them our similarities as well, creating a sense of empathy and compassion.

Building social skills
Students have to develop social skills to interact with their peers and others. Field trips that allow children the opportunity to talk to adults and children from other schools enrich their ability to effectively communicate with others.

Learning hands-on
Students can learn from textbooks and other resources, but actual experiences help them get hands-on learning. Rather than just reading online about the behaviors of fish, students can visit a fish hatchery and see their life cycle first-hand. They would also be able to talk to an actual worker in the field and learn facts not covered in books.

Creating new opportunities
Many students do not get the opportunity to travel to field trip destinations such as major ski resorts or theaters. Perhaps their economic background doesn't allow this, but a group rate for a school trip might, or perhaps it is not a major interest of their family members, so a school field trip is the first time they are introduced to a new opportunity or idea. Field trips give students the chance to go places they would not otherwise be able to attend.

Enhancing the Curriculum
Field trips provide an opportunity to make cross-curricular connections and show students that learning does not have to be an isolated experience.

Making learning more fun
Learning does not have to be a difficult and grueling task. Think about how easy it is to remember your favorite song lyrics, difficult dance steps, or anything you learned because it was fun or important to you. Engagement and a little fun improves our retention abilities. Sometimes a field trip can be a fun diversion from the everyday classroom activities that can leave a lasting impression.

This blog post from eHow helped influence today's post. Click to read more!

NFL Picks ~ Championships

It’s playoff time in the NFL. As I've done every week for over twenty years, and continue to do purely for fun, here are my picks against the spread for the NFL:

Baltimore getting 8.5 from New England
WIN
Baltimore 28 - New England 13

San Francisco giving 4 to Atlanta
PUSH
San Francisco 28 - Atlanta 24

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF RECORD: 1-0-1

2012 - 2013 Record: 130-129-7
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Every Day of the Week

By the way, this is my definitive list of the BEST songs for every day of the week:

"Monday, Monday" - The Mamas and the Papas
"Tuesday's Gone" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Wednesday" - Tori Amos
"Thursday" - Jim Croce
"Friday I'm in Love" - The Cure
"Another Saturday Night" - Sam Cooke
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" - U2

And since this is Tuesdays with Swindy, here are a few extra for that oft-forgotten day:

"Ruby Tuesday" - Rolling Stones
"Tuesday Heartbreak" - Stevie Wonder
"Tuesday Afternoon" - Moody Blues
"Church On Tuesday" - Stone Temple Pilots
"Barely Out Of Tuesday" - Counting Crows
"Love You Till Tuesday" - David Bowie

NFL Picks ~ Divisional Playoffs

It’s playoff time in the NFL. As I've done every week for over twenty years, and continue to do purely for fun, here are my picks against the spread for the NFL:

Baltimore getting 9 from Denver
WIN
Baltimore 38 - Denver 35

San Francisco giving 3 to Green Bay
WIN
San Francisco 45 - Green Bay 31
 
Atlanta giving 2.5 to Seattle
LOSS
Atlanta 30 - Seattle 28

Houston getting 9.5 from New England
LOSS
New England 41 - Houston 28
 

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF RECORD: 2-2-0

2012 - 2013 Record: 129-129-6
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Stress Less? Let's.

Near the end of this afternoon's faculty meeting, our principal offered some advice. He spent a few minutes reflecting, in what appeared to be a completely spontaneous manner, about the stress he observes on the faces of teachers who feel overwhelmed with so many tasks and so little time, urging everyone to prioritize. He reminded us of our successes in state testing. He reminded us that June is a long way off and we need to pace ourselves. And he recommended we ask ourselves whether something would be important "five years down the road." If it is going to be important, then do it well, he said. If it isn't, then don't stress about it.

I decided to use today's blog entry to look back at the things I have done over the last two days at work and apply his question, will it matter in five years?

First and foremost, I taught six class periods each day. During that time, I told my English 10 students about a new, more challenging format for our vocabulary quizzes that will start this Friday. We learned the words for this week, and spent time talking about each word's definition and coming up with mnemonic devices to commit the words and their meanings to long-term memory. Will this matter in five years? I believe vocabulary is power. I spend an inordinate amount of time each week working with the words because I believe a good vocabulary is the passport students will need to gain access to many of the things they want to do in their lives. I say YES.

We also reviewed some grammar/usage/conventions concepts to prepare for the upcoming midterm exams. We discussed tone, purpose, independent vs. dependent clauses, adverbial clauses, and parallel structure. Will this matter in five years? Almost every student will be in college or working, and will need to communicate effectively through writing (anyone ever email professors or bosses?). Emphatically, I say YES.

We read and discussed chapters from The Catcher in the Rye. Students will need to know about this novel to write their critical papers next month and to pass the tests and quizzes related to the novel, but will they need to know this in five years? Maybe not, at least not specifically the details we discussed. However, the students participated in a literary discussion using higher level critical thinking skills. I believe this experience will transfer over to other areas where they will need to read, interpret, form opinions, make decisions, synthesize thoughts and discuss. Besides, I want them to be in the know when someone mentions old Holden Caulfield five years from now. YES!

I collected homework. I handed out messages that came from school clubs and organizations to students in my first period class. I handed out PSAT booklets and answered questions about college applications. I wrote a letter of recommendation. I helped a student in her quest to figure out if she wanted to go to college right away or work for a year first. I took attendance. I urged sleeping students to wake up and talkative students to quiet down. I collected work for absent students and gave it to them when they returned to class. I even attempted to convince a student that parallel structure will be important to him later in life. All of the side discussions, impromptu dialogues, and administrative duties that go into managing a class -- will they matter in five years? It's hard to be certain which ones, but some certainly will. YES.

But as I remember back to what I've done at work over the last few days, it was way more than just class time. I also have a lunch period and a prep period, as well as 30 minutes after school. Looking at the way I prioritized that time might shed some light on what areas of stress I could cut back a little. I wouldn't necessarily say it all stressed me out, but it has been a whirlwind of fast-paced decision making, to say the least. Let's look back at some of the things that have occupied my time on Monday and Tuesday...

I listened to a voicemail from a parent concerned about her son's grade. I reviewed his performance, made some notes, and called her back. No answer. I left a message. I filled out a student evaluation for the school psychologist. I compiled 10 days of homework and classwork for a student who will be suspended for the next 10 days. I did the same for one student who will be in in-school suspension on Wednesday. I received, read, and filed revised IEP and 504 agreements for three students. I filled out a survey about one student's behavior and classroom participation for her case manager. I clarified my answers to that student's home office assistant principal in an email. I posted every lesson for every class this week on my web page. I revised, printed and copied handouts for the grammar excercises for the English classes. I wrote a chapter of my character's story in the online collaborative writing project in which my Creative Writing students and I are currently engaged. I emailed the teacher of a student in Virtual High School, which I coordinate for our school, with a concern he had about his grades. I received a reply the next day and discussed it with the student. I logged on to get the grades for all the VHS students from their teachers and entered them into our school's online grade book. I updated the application for next year's VHS program at the request of an assistant principal. I donated money for an upcoming department celebration for a colleague. I gave four students make-up quizzes from their absences. I emailed administrators to get permission to use the district credit card to pay for the ski club lock-in, called the company hosting the event, made the payment, and wrote a reimbursement to the district from the club's account. I spoke with the manager of the company that is hosting the event, and reviewed the list of 63 students who will be attending this Friday night. I had cafeteria duty. I emailed faculty members looking for one more chaperone for an upcoming ski trip I will be running for the ski club. I prepared a presentation and a six-page handout for Wednesday's meeting with parents of students going on another ski trip. I collected money and permission forms from dozens of students who popped in to my room at random intervals throughout each day, logged them in our records, and submitted the payments for deposit. I did a blog post.

Which of these tasks will truly matter in five years? I can't always say. 11 years into a teaching career, so many students have come back and told me how so many things that may have seemed trivial at the time made a difference to them, that I can't know for sure which actions will have lasting effects. I try to put my all into all of them before collapsing in exhaustion at the end of the week. :)

On the homefront, I helped my son with his homework. I exchanged a Christmas gift of his that wasn't working. I danced with my daughter. I gave baths and read books. I woke both kids up each morning so they could wave goodbye out the window as I drove to work. I took our car in for brake work and picked it up the next day. I ate dinner with my family. I spent a sleepless, cold Monday night when the furnace in our house stopped working, and laughed about it on Tuesday when we were told it was just a reset button that we needed to push. I read a few pages (and that's it) from the current novel I am reading for enjoyment. I dropped my skis off to be tuned for the season because I am chaperoning a ski trip to New York for three days next week. I went over the plans for the rest of the week with my wife, wondering how we were going to fit it all in, but knowing we somehow always do! I talked to one friend who just had a new baby, and one friend who took his father off of the respirator yesterday. I gave thanks that the four of us in my family are all healthy and together this week. I ... don't know that any of this could be classified as more important or less important. Some of it gave me great stress, and some of it gave me pure joy. All of it needed to be done.

There is no nice little bow to wrap up this week's thoughts. While it helps to prioritize and to think about what is truly important in life, and to remember not to sweat the small stuff, it seems life is inherently comprised of the stringing together of small stuff that leads to a complete and important whole. I will make a conscious effort not to let the trivial things add unnecessary stress to my life, but if they do, well, I'm not going to stress about that, either.

NFL Picks ~ Wild Card Playoffs

It’s playoff time in the NFL. As I've done every week for over twenty years, and continue to do purely for fun, here are my picks against the spread for the NFL:

Houston giving 4.5 to Cincinnati          
WIN
Houston 19 - Cincinnati 13

Minnesota getting 7.5 from  Green Bay
LOSS
Green Bay 24 - Minnesota 10

Indianapolis getting 6.5 from Baltimore 
LOSS
Baltimore 24 - Indianapolis 9

Washington getting 3 from Seattle        
LOSS
Seattle 24 - Washington 14

WILD CARD PLAYOFF RECORD: 1-3-0

2012 - 2013 Record: 127-127-6
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Classroom Resolution: More Conferencing

Four months into the school year, my students have done a lot of work. They've read novels, short stories, poems and plays, they've written several compositions, they've done projects and presentations, they've taken literature tests and learned grammar rules, they know how to access information on my web pages, submit work electronically via Google Docs and publish wiki pages, and they've completed almost half of the vocabulary units for the year.

But there is one area where I feel we are behind. I rarely have time to talk to students on a 1:1 basis about their work and give individual feedback. Sure, I write as much as I can on their papers, which they log in their composition record forms when they file the papers in their writing folders, but how much of this do they retain? We also spend class time reviewing the most common mistakes from any round of papers or projects. But the school schedule has become so hectic, and the lives of today's students so jam-packed, that there is virtually no time outside of class to really talk to an individual student and work on his or her areas for improvement.

So I try to fit as much as humanly possible into each class, to "cover" as many of the biggest issues as we can. It can be exhausting planning these lessons and delivering them in our 40 minutes (often much less time, actually, with all the schedule assemblies, drills, benchmark and sate testing, etc.), and it has led me to see that I am still doing much more work than they are. That is a problem. I spend hours planning and hours grading. How do I know that they are putting in the time and effort where it counts, improving their own individual English skills? I need to devote class time to conferencing with students.

To get 2-3 minutes to look over student work, discuss areas of strength and areas for improvement, and answer individual questions, I will need to make sure the rest of the class is working independently. I think I can accomplish this during the upcoming months when the students in most of my classes start writing their critical papers, the biggest writing assignment of the year. As the class is engaged in research, organizing, writing and revising, I will be able to work with each individual several times over the span of a few weeks.

In order for this to happen, I need the buy-in from my students. I have to trust that they will be mature and responsible enough to work independently while conferencing takes place. I resolve to trust them to handle this, and to make it happen in the classroom more often in 2013.

Good luck with your own resolutions, professional and personal, and have a great, happy and healthy 2013!
Happy new year!