Bathroom buddies, yellow school buses, sack lunches…it all brings me back to the good, clean fun of fieldtrips. We’ve all grown to be older, wiser, and more responsible than our elementary school selves, but hey, we all still like to miss a little class and kick it with the zoo animals. Fieldtrips are a great way to get out in the world and soak up our education, instead of staying cooped inside all day. Everyone has grand fieldtrip memories. Sure, maybe now we don’t need to have three chaperones for every two kids, but we do still need fieldtrips.

We all work and toil our days away. It’s only common sense to say that we deserve a break once in a while. Since the new attendance policy no longer allows us to skip class and take “breaks” as we please and deem necessary, it’s up to the school to provide us with the valuable recreation time we need to ease the pressures on our mind.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m by no means calling for a wild jungle fiesta. A fieldtrip is a fieldtrip after all, and the primary goal is to get some learning accomplished, but there’s no reason why we can’t have the best of both worlds. There are plenty of places classes could go, where the destination would be thrilling and enrich what’s being taught in the classroom. For example, a language arts class can go see a play of the book they are reading. A Spanish class can go to a Spanish rock concert or a restaurant where the students can only order in Spanish. A health class can go to the grocery store and buy the items it takes to make a healthy meal.

There are many things that simply cannot be learned in the classroom. Lectures can be powerful at times, but a lot of the time, it feels as if teachers are simply talking at the students. And it’s not just the teachers’ faults. It’s a tough job trying to keep students engaged in a lecture when everyone is antsy after hours of sitting. Sometimes, students need a little hands-on learning to get them inspired.

I remember going on a fieldtrip in seventh grade to the sewage treatment plant. It was certainly not the most glamorous or best-smelling destination, especially when they made us pose for a picture in the incoming sewage room (man, talk about trying to hold a smile), but it sure was an eye-opening experience. I would turn on the faucet everyday, but before that trip, I was never aware of where that water went and all the steps that have to be taken before the water is released back out into Puget Sound.

Let’s face it. School, as of now, is the pits. Day in, day out, the same old routine repeats week after week. We go to classes, sit through lectures, take notes, and do homework. Some of the material we take in, but most of it stays with us just until we get it down on paper for a test. We are confined six hours a day to the same building. The closest taste I’ve had to a fieldtrip in recent history is a fire drill, and that frankly, just does not cut it: I’m still hungry for a real excursion. Teachers may think fieldtrips take away from other classes, but not every fieldtrip has to be an all-out extravaganza. Even a jaunt to the park for a class book discussion on a nice day can make all the difference in a long and grueling school week.

Fieldtrips, in general, would boost student morale. It’s been a while since I’ve been on one, but I remember when I was younger, I used to always be jittery with excitement the night before a trip to the Museum of Flight or a private viewing at the Northwest Puppet Theatre. Not quite the same as the night before Christmas, but you get the gist. The fact that I knew I would be going on a fieldtrip the next day made me look forward to going to school.

It’s thirteen days into the school year and I’m already craving a break. Be like Nike and Just Do It. Load us up onto a big yellow bus and send us to the zoo. Just because we’re in high school, there’s no reason to be skimpin’ on those class excursions.