Comments on: The Neglected Field Trip & and Bridging the Achievement Gap http://tweenteacher.com/2009/10/11/the-neglected-field-trip-and-bridging-the-achievement-gap/ Heather Wolpert-Gawron Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:35:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Tweenteacher http://tweenteacher.com/2009/10/11/the-neglected-field-trip-and-bridging-the-achievement-gap/comment-page-1/#comment-3201 Tweenteacher Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:26:36 +0000 http://tweenteacher.com/?p=668#comment-3201 I loved visiting colleges, and the younger kids go, the more inclined they will be to have it in their future. Some colleges are Disneyland-esque in their learning environment. They bring choice in learning to the forefront of a student's mind. Choice in learning is something that many students don't experience until college and for some, that's too late. That's why electives are so important in middle and high school. But that's for another post! Thanks for commenting. -Heather aka Tweenteacher I loved visiting colleges, and the younger kids go, the more inclined they will be to have it in their future. Some colleges are Disneyland-esque in their learning environment. They bring choice in learning to the forefront of a student’s mind. Choice in learning is something that many students don’t experience until college and for some, that’s too late. That’s why electives are so important in middle and high school. But that’s for another post! Thanks for commenting.
-Heather
aka Tweenteacher

]]> By: Ina L http://tweenteacher.com/2009/10/11/the-neglected-field-trip-and-bridging-the-achievement-gap/comment-page-1/#comment-3199 Ina L Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:38:59 +0000 http://tweenteacher.com/?p=668#comment-3199 The best field trips I ever took kids on were to colleges. For most it was a whole new world. Their favorite places on campus were the dorms, the student union, and the stadium. Classrooms, not so much. Didn't matter though, they got onto a campus and that's what mattered. It really is all about exposure isn't it? The best field trips I ever took kids on were to colleges. For most it was a whole new world. Their favorite places on campus were the dorms, the student union, and the stadium. Classrooms, not so much. Didn’t matter though, they got onto a campus and that’s what mattered. It really is all about exposure isn’t it?

]]> By: tweenteacher http://tweenteacher.com/2009/10/11/the-neglected-field-trip-and-bridging-the-achievement-gap/comment-page-1/#comment-3198 tweenteacher Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:49:10 +0000 http://tweenteacher.com/?p=668#comment-3198 Karen! I can totally see you and your brother rolling down that hill together. And it's true, you do learn about those kids in a different way the minute you take them away from the "office." What was your favorite field trip? Thanks for commenting! -Heather aka Tweenteacher Karen!
I can totally see you and your brother rolling down that hill together. And it’s true, you do learn about those kids in a different way the minute you take them away from the “office.” What was your favorite field trip? Thanks for commenting!
-Heather
aka Tweenteacher

]]> By: Karen Gawron http://tweenteacher.com/2009/10/11/the-neglected-field-trip-and-bridging-the-achievement-gap/comment-page-1/#comment-3197 Karen Gawron Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:37:02 +0000 http://tweenteacher.com/?p=668#comment-3197 I love field trips! No matter what the budget, I manage to find someplace for myself and the students to go. This is my favorite part of field trips: About 10 minutes into the trip, whether on a bus, private car, or even walking, the students begin to open up about their lives to one another. They forget that the teacher may even be in the front seat. I hear the best conversations! And they can get into some deep stuff. Divorce. Death. Money. What is it about field trips that open the flood gates? And don't forget about bringing all those field trip experiences back into the classroom. Now we all have something to write about! P.S. The Tar Pits were my 2nd home. My brother and I laid face down, head to head, gripped arms and rolled down that hill together endlessly. I love field trips! No matter what the budget, I manage to find someplace for myself and the students to go. This is my favorite part of field trips: About 10 minutes into the trip, whether on a bus, private car, or even walking, the students begin to open up about their lives to one another. They forget that the teacher may even be in the front seat. I hear the best conversations! And they can get into some deep stuff. Divorce. Death. Money. What is it about field trips that open the flood gates?
And don’t forget about bringing all those field trip experiences back into the classroom. Now we all have something to write about!
P.S. The Tar Pits were my 2nd home. My brother and I laid face down, head to head, gripped arms and rolled down that hill together endlessly.

]]> By: Nancy Flanagan http://tweenteacher.com/2009/10/11/the-neglected-field-trip-and-bridging-the-achievement-gap/comment-page-1/#comment-3195 Nancy Flanagan Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:35:10 +0000 http://tweenteacher.com/?p=668#comment-3195 When our kids were 9 and 12, we did the classic family vacation special: a three-week, 5-state road trip that included five national parks (one of which was Grand Canyon), two water-based adventures (float and white-water), a little modest climbing and hiking, history galore (both guidebook and kid-fiction). We began and ended the trip in Vegas (another kind of cultural education), mostly because of the cheap flights and mini-van rental. Our kids (now 21 and 24) refer to this as "the brown rocks trip." I have memories of driving through the fantastic moonscape geology of Utah, and seeing both of them in the backseat with headphones on, resolutely ignoring nature. But. One kid now lives in and loves AZ, her penchant for a different kind of landscape seeded on that trip. And both of them can recall the Rocky Mountains, the rafting, Santa Fe, the Indian reservations--plus three weeks of ongoing tutoring from their parents on diverse subjects like westward expansion, the Latter Day Saints, and why Vegas is really the epicenter of evil. You're absolutely right--all experiences matter, very much, in human learning. When our kids were 9 and 12, we did the classic family vacation special: a three-week, 5-state road trip that included five national parks (one of which was Grand Canyon), two water-based adventures (float and white-water), a little modest climbing and hiking, history galore (both guidebook and kid-fiction). We began and ended the trip in Vegas (another kind of cultural education), mostly because of the cheap flights and mini-van rental.

Our kids (now 21 and 24) refer to this as “the brown rocks trip.” I have memories of driving through the fantastic moonscape geology of Utah, and seeing both of them in the backseat with headphones on, resolutely ignoring nature.

But. One kid now lives in and loves AZ, her penchant for a different kind of landscape seeded on that trip. And both of them can recall the Rocky Mountains, the rafting, Santa Fe, the Indian reservations–plus three weeks of ongoing tutoring from their parents on diverse subjects like westward expansion, the Latter Day Saints, and why Vegas is really the epicenter of evil.

You’re absolutely right–all experiences matter, very much, in human learning.

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