Dear Field Trip Teacher,
The first thing Corona Virus stole from me was a field trip with my students to the Monroeville County Courthouse to see the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. Back then, I thought the travel ban was way over-the-top. The district email banning out-of-state travel came on Thursday, March 12th. A day later schools all over the country shuttered their doors indefinitely.
What I didn't know that Thursday- couldn't know- was how catastrophic the problem really was. In retrospect, I am embarrassed that I actually tried to negotiate with my principal about an alternate in-district field trip to a local movie theater. Little did I know, we would not be returning to school the rest of the year and movie theaters would shrivel up like a raisin in the sun.
It is possible I'm a super naive person, which I openly admit. However, I think most teachers were just as stunned as I was by the sudden halt to....well, everything.
Of all the things I miss pre-pandemic, being naive ranks pretty high. Field trips are a close second.
Our trip was supposed to be the Tuesday we returned from spring break. A colleague and I had done the hard part. All that was left was boarding the buses with 100 excited kids.
As long as I live, I'll never forget a day over in May when I started rummaging through my dusty school bag that had remained untouched since I left school in March. An envelope fell to the floor from a kid who turned in his field trip money the last day of school. Inside sat a lonely twenty dollar bill and a faded note. "Here is my money. Thanks for letting me turn it in late. I am so excited about the trip."
A thousand hot tears did nothing to erase the pain of that moment.
I am not the only teacher who misses field trips or breaks down in a fit of tears regularly for no particular reason.
One teacher put it like this.
"I miss taking kids places. The chance to take kids places for their firsts is truly special. Probably the greatest joy as a parent is seeing your kids see something for the first time. I almost feel guilty for all the "first" moments I have been blessed to have over my years of traveling with students. I've taken kids on their first flights to new cities and subway rides. I've stood in historic museums, watched Broadway plays, ridden rollercoasters, jumped out of trees, watched mermaid shows, sat around campfires, and taken boat rides with them. I once stood on a hill in Arlington looking at a thousand graves and introduced students to our nation's capitol. Heck, I even drove a kid across the Pensacola Bay Bridge for her first time."
Other teachers have taken children to the Exploreum where they have to remind them to catch a bubble and keep their hands in their pockets. These days kindergarten children can't even go to a farm, which is probably the most Corona-free place on the planet. My nephew missed his fourth grade trip to Tallahassee. A lot of other kids did too. I wonder if they will ever ride a charter bus. Fourth grade was their big chance.
We desperately need trips again. They are the most valuable learning experiences children will ever have and what they will remember most about school.
I sincerely hope field trips return, but I also can't stop thinking about what Langston Hughes says regarding a hope deferred.
It's a question worth asking.
Does it dry up? Does it fester like a sore?
From personal experience, I know it certainly stinks like rotten meat.
And for teachers everywhere there is an indescrible sagging heavy load.
Will it explode?
-CDB
Comments