Preaching to the Choir, My Apologies

I went on a field trip today with a group of sixth graders.  I really liked the trip and the students were super.  The trip was hands on, engaging, well-organized...everything, really that a teacher is looking for when planning an "outside of the classroom" learning experience for students. 

On the bus ride home I found myself mentally arguing with those teachers who really feel they can't afford to ever take a field trip because the students miss time in the classroom.  And, I can see their side - we have a finite amount of time to teach and ensure that students have learned content, we can't afford to miss any of that. 

This, unfortunately, exemplifies for me how the education system in the United States needs to be re-visioned.  Yes, we need more time in the classroom - especially as states continue to add more and more content to our plates; add time to the day (our kids get out of school at 2:24), and add time to the school year.    Also  we need to redefine our purpose in education - this argument against field trips is fueled by a standardized test given at the end of the year.  The data collected from those end of year tests is vital and important, but, isn't our purpose broader in education that teaching students to pass a/the test?  Shouldn't we be concerned about the application of what students are learning - and doesn't that often get taught on field trips? 

Today, our sixth graders applied the science that they have been learning (in an energy unit) to many different real-life situations, including measuring solar power, exploring insulation (conservation of energy), energy waste and efficiency using a bike converter, and cold blooded vs warm blooded animals and energy. 

Field trips really aren't about being memorable...although many students remember them well...they are about addressing content learned and applying that learning in real-world settings - that sounds much more realistic than a standardized testing situation.