The short and simple answer is yes. A survey was sent out the week before spring break for Ballard students and teachers to fill out, and based on many responses, Ballard’s staff and students agree that field trips are worth having. The survey asked various questions related to field trips, such as whether or not respondents think field trips are educational, fun, and worth getting out of class for. Most survey takers said yes to all three, with a few saying that it depends on the field trip to decide if it’s worth getting out of class for.
The survey also asked if respondents could remember the last field trip they went on, as well as what their favorite field trip memory is. Every response said that they could remember the latest field trip that they had been on. A large portion of respondents said that they had been on a field trip very recently, with one answer being that the latest field trip was less than a week ago. The least recent response was in eighth grade, when they went on a two day trip for orchestra. One student, however, had not been on a field trip since fourth grade until very recently.
Another question that was asked, for teachers, is if they consider field trips an excusable or inexcusable absence. All teachers that responded, with the exception of two, said that field trips are excused absences in their classes. One teacher pointed out that they trust their colleagues’ opinions on whether a field trip is worth going on or not, which is a good mindset to have. One of the teachers that said field trips are unexcused said that they cause too many disruptions and that students still need to be responsible for their work afterwards. The other teacher who said field trips are unexcused said that students have the choice to go on field trips and students shouldn’t use them as an excuse to get out of work/class.
While there are lots of pros for having a field trip, there are also some cons. Expenses for field trips can be costly. Things like transportation can be a large cost when planning a field trip. For example, buses can cost between $150–$450+ per hour. A full day trip can have costs go into the thousands. Also, depending on where the field trip takes place, tickets for entry can be expensive, especially when there are a lot of students to get tickets for. Some field trips that last for multiple days can be extremely expensive if the staff has to pay for hotel rooms. Despite the expenses, there are a lot more benefits for going on a field trip. In the survey, every single respondent said that they believe field trips are fun and educational.
