Leah
JenniferAs you read this, please remember I was a public school teacher in Indiana. When taking a field trip we were required to have a background check on all parent volunteers, permission slips signed in triplicate when we set one foot off campus and all field tripswere relegated to only places which were educational and worked within the state educational standards.
Today I accompanied Leah and Jennifer on a field trip to go ice skating in Brussels. This field trip takes the place of a 5th grade Christmas party. In a school where there are 13 different countries represented in 5 different 5th grade classes, you can almost bet that celebrating Christmas is not politically correct with about 40% of the kids. So, the kids go ice skating instead.
Here are some of the particulars. Each class has 22 kids and brought 1-3 extra parents. Remember there are 5 classes. Each class left at staggered times so we wouldn't bombard the ice rink. At my old school, 125 kids plus parents would need 3 buses. At the International School of Brussels, we do things a little differently. We took public transportation! I am not kidding. After leaving campus, we took a brisk 10 minute walk to the closest TramStop. After a wait of about 5 minutes, we hopped onto the Tram and traveled 4 stops. The entire class then walked 1 block to the Metro Train Station. Inside the station, we waited for the next train and got on, traveling through 5 stops. At that point, we all got off the train, went up an escalator, down another escalator and got on another train riding until we reached our final stop 3 stations later. When we finally saw daylight, we walked another block to reach the skating rink.
What a day! My girls had a great time and so did all the other kids. I was sure we would lose one, maybe two kids along the way, but everyone made it there and back in one piece.
I thought of all the field trips I have taken during my tenure of teaching. None of them were like today. My children grow each day more than I ever thought they would. They view themselves as being able to do anything. I like change, I like trying new things and I like sharing these new experiences. Stay tuned. I am sure there is plenty more change and excitement to come!
Our class on the Tram
Our class getting off the train and going up and out to the rink.
Wow! What an experiences your girls are getting to have. They never would have been able to have anywhere near this type of experience in Indiana. What fun. Hmmm, school is supposed to be about fun soemtimes and it doesn't always have to revolve around a standard?? Who'd have thunk it? LOL
ReplyDeleteMissing you all,
Jennifer
Wow! I bet you were exhausted! I will never complain when I go on a field trip with Ridge again. When I get home from our boring little trip back here in Indiana I'm so tired I can't even make dinner. Thanks for sharing..I will be more grateful for that bus ride next time. Sonja Cavallero
ReplyDeleteIt is so different here with school and children. There are NO permission slips.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not used to seeing little 6 year old Scouts running around my neighborhood and on the streets without any adult supervision.