Field Trips: Off We Go!

Exeter – West Greenwich, Rhode Island

What kid doesn’t like field trips? It provides adventure into the unknown while being with your friends! Field trips of today provide memories for tomorrow. From an educator’s viewpoint, field trips can expand what is learned in the curriculum while at other times, field trips are just for fun.

One trip that stands out for me was sponsored by the Rhode Island Philharmonic who held free workshops in the fall for elementary music teachers. At these workshops, teachers were given music books and recorders for each of their fourth grade students. Later in the spring, after these students had been taught the pieces in the book, the music teachers and all of their fourth graders would return to the Philharmonic. The first part of the program demonstrated to the students what each instrument sounded like on its own.  Then the musicians began layering the sounds together to demonstrate how an orchestra creates such a large, bold presentation.

The last part of the program was designed for all the students to play the songs that they had learned on their recorders along with the orchestra. There were students from many different schools throughout the state and the sound of nearly 2,000 youngsters playing along with the orchestra was a magnificent happening!

This experience had a lasting effect on many of the students who would have the opportunity to join the school band the next year as fifth graders. Many were able to choose their instruments based on this experience with the Philharmonic. 

As much fun as some of these trips were, my favorite was the annual trip to  see the Pawsox play —  a Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Prior to the trip, all students were taught two songs: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “The Star-Spangled Banner”. They even learned to remove their hats during the National Anthem.

All the students wore matching blue shirts and hats with the school name for easy identification.  Plus, everyone got a soda, a hot dog and popcorn!  The full experience was enjoyed by all knowing that this could be the only ballgame some of these youngsters might ever attend.  

With 700 students and 70 faculty, we had 15 buses to unload at the ballpark and, as the vice principal, I made sure I was on the first bus to orchestrate an orderly unloading. As we pulled up to the drop-off area, I spotted a father of one of our students who had a restraining order forbidding him contact with his daughter. I quickly radioed my two behavior specialists to meet me at the first bus and instructed the bus driver to alert all buses to hold the kids for now. I was not sure which bus his daughter was on and I did not want to afford him the opportunity to grab her. As I exited the bus, I saw a police officer nearby and hailed him over. The father was starting to run up and down the line of buses desperately looking for his daughter. He could not move too quickly, however, since he was juggling two cups of beer.

I explained the situation to the officer who was more than glad to assist us. The four of us quickly walked over to the dad and one of the behavior specialists, who knew this father, handled the situation. The police officer escorted the father away and said not to worry. Dad would not be attending the game that day. Luckily, the daughter was on one of the buses near the end of the line, so she did not observe what had happened.  This, of course, was the most important part of this awkward situation. 

As interesting as this trip was, of all the field trips I have ever been on, one stands out among all others. 

I was teaching 8th grade in Rhode Island and we took our team of 150 students to New York City in September of 2000.  We started off our year with a unit on immigration which included visiting the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration so the students could do some research into their relatives who came into the US via this portal. It was a magnificent day, and the students and faculty had a great time. There is even a picture of me on an outdoor patio with the Twin Towers just over my shoulder.  The trip went without a hitch.

One year later, I was teaching that same unit on immigration and planning our trip to NYC for the next week.  Suddenly, there was a frantic knock on my classroom door so I rushed out into the hallway. News of the 911 attack had just broken and we were told not to say anything to the students until a plan could be put into place.

Between each class, the teachers would slip into the faculty room to watch what was happening on TV. Luckily, students did not yet have ready access to phones. Keeping this frightening news from the youngsters all day and not appearing distressed was extremely difficult since  some of the students’ parents or family members lived or worked in NYC.  Breaking the news to the kids at the end of the day was one of the most difficult tasks I have ever had to do!

Needless to say, we cancelled our NYC trip that year. The thought of being responsible for the health and safety of 150 students just a few blocks from the Twin Towers during this horrific event was beyond my comprehension.  The fear of not being able to get off Manhattan Island or have phone service to contact anyone lingers with me to this day. We were definitely among the lucky ones!

Copyright © 2025 by Carol Fish