Experiental learning is necessary in high school Students should be encouraged to learn outside the classroom

By Sophia Brownsword Editor-in-Chief

While the pandemic made the occurrence of fieldtrips at high school over the past couple of years complicated, as most things return back to normal, so does the existence of nontraditional learning. Unfortunately, from student perspective, field-trips no longer contain the appeal that they used to in middle and elementary school. For many students, field trips propose a problem: missing school.

Walpole High School cites that one of its goals–per the mission statement–is to “foster learning through a collaborative process that engages students, educators and the community.”

That being said, one of the best ways to offer students engagement within their community is through field trips. Another part of the mission statement cites that WHS will “make every effort” to produce students that are “able to succeed in the increasingly complex world in which they will live.” Considering this, more experiential learning opportunities should be provided for students at WHS, as these experiences can more accurately provide students with the worldliness WHS claims to impart. And yet, while on paper field trips seem to be in alignment with the mission at WHS, there are still so many students reluctant to attend them.

One main reason is because students do not feel as if they would be given adequate time after the field trip to make up all the work missed during class.

“I would be expected to go to class the next day like I did not miss a day. I would be ex pected to have everything done–notes done, homework done–and expected to continue on as if I were in class the day be fore,” an anon ymous WHS se nior said.

The WHS Student/Parent Handbook states that students have “two school days to make-up work for each day absent.” Despite this policy, many students feel as though they are expected to be caught up by the time they return to class after a field trip.

Not only does the issue affect students, but teachers also feel discouragement when they are planning field trips.

“Whenever I’ve run a field trip for students, I have felt as though I have to justify the validity of the trip to my colleagues so that people do not think students are missing their classes just to have fun,” an anonymous WHS teacher said.

Most often when students discuss field trips, they think of their sixth grade environmental camp week or the time they went to the Boston Tea Party museum in elementary school. But in highschool, field trips can be so much more than just a fun break from school. They can promote the interactions between one high school an another through the attendance of conferences and panels, like the Massachusetts Association of Student Councils (MASC) threeday conference. What once used to be a much revered trip is now struggling to find enough members who want to go in order to reach the minimum.

“I remember having to write a short paper or paragraph on why I deserved a spot [at MASC],” an anonymous WHS alumni said. “I often think back on MASC and Student Council in general and feel like so much of what we did there and some of the skills you learn are way more valuable to me today than the time I spent in biology class.”

The difference in attitudes between past opinion and current opinion towards participating in field trips demonstrates the new culture at WHS that perpetuates students’ inability to take advantage of the immense opportunities offered. Field trips should be taken advantage of at the highschool level, and students should not be so held back by schoolwork itself that they feel they cannot participate. Embarking on different educational experiences outside the classroom is beneficial to the learning process as a whole, and all students should have the ability to actually take part in these experiences. Teachers should support students’ exploratory endeavors, and allow students the proper support necessary if they need to catch up on work due to a fieldtrip. Not only that, but WHS itself should be encouraged to seek out more experiential learning for students to take part in, as it provides a necessary break from the monotony of everyday school as well as extreme benefits to educational development.