Field trips are a time-honored tradition that many regard as an essential part of early education. However, to Jessica Schulman, a high school biology teacher, they can seem endless and expensive. Schulman has two kids in elementary school—one in fourth grade and the other in second. She is concerned that her kids are consistently away on field trips instead of in the classroom. 

Daniel Horil, Schulman’s teacher assistant, shared his memories of field trips in elementary school.

“When we were in kindergarten, first, and second grade during the EOGs (End-of-Grade tests) they would send us on field trips because they needed the classroom space,” he explained. “It was ridiculous.”

He proposed they could have instead gone to Briar Chapel Park or had an extra field day.

Though Schulman and others question the value of frequent field trips in elementary school, opinions shift once students reach high school.

Schulman expressed that high school trips are worthwhile for providing real life experience. She recently led a trip to the State Forensic Lab in Raleigh, where students studied technologies like DNA testing and fingerprinting.

Jace Neagle, a high schooler who went on the trip, thought it was worthwhile. 

“It was useful to see careers in science besides straight research.”

Alexander Massengale, a high school history teacher, has a different perspective. “The elementary field trips are generally pretty inexpensive. The bigger complaints I’ve heard are about the high school overnight ones. For many families the overnight trips add up. If you have multiple kids it’s potentially up to a thousand dollars over four years.”

The school has three overnight field trips in the coming days for the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. Two middle school overnighters are slated for the spring.