Every year, hundreds of Wildcats visit Hershey Park in Pennsylvania on a field trip with their physics classes. They ride roller coasters and at the same time see the real world application of the principles they learned all year in physics classes.
Some might say that this trip is only meant for the enjoyment of the students and lacks any real educational value, but I hold the opposite view. It is easy for students to lose interest in class with piles of assignments, homework and obscure formulas blinding them from the true significance of science. The trip to Hershey Park is a compelling lesson to the students on what knowledge of physics can make possible. Riding roller coasters and other rides allows them to think about the intricacies that went into the design and inspire them to think about careers in engineering, physics, and other stem fields.
MCPS needs more field trips such as this one that help students recognize the relevance of classroom learning in a dynamic way.
The music department takes a similar but distinct approach to field trips. Every year orchestral, band, jazz and choir groups attend festivals and concerts. These events allow the musicians to develop their performance skills and give them even more purpose behind the music they create. These trips also allow the students to see what other schools are creating in their music programs and to support them as they perform. However, this is not the only field trip the department sets up. Every few years 10th, 11th and 12th graders attend a trip down to Orlando to not only visit the Universal Studios Park but also to see what it is like to create music in a studio. Observing and participating in serious music creation allows the students to evaluate whether music is a career they want to pursue.
Field trips like these are a valuable tool for students to learn about career paths and the applications of classroom skills in the real world. More departments could benefit from such field trips if they were to implement them. Possible field trip locations could be museums, universities, national parks or even local businesses. Every one of these places along with many others offers distinct lessons about how education is used in everyday work life and can help students stay motivated to learn.
The limiting factors that prevent such field trips are money and time. Classes only have a certain amount of hours to teach and prepare for things like AP tests. Every class period counts and is important to the overall success of students. At the same time money is also a barrier. It is important that MCPS works to overcome this obstacle by putting more budget towards field trips for classes. This would help support the financial side of this problem. When it comes to time, I believe that MCPS must get creative. Making sure the field trips have pre and post material that will help students on tests is one initiative strategy to keep classes on schedule. With a great deal of effort and work, I believe that we can overhaul field trips and create more opportunities for education outside the classroom.
