<p>The federal govt is investigating countless school districts across the country for violations of Title IX.
In the Seattle district, frantic backpedaling is trying to mitigate the lax oversight on overnight field trips, like the one that occurred two years ago, where a 10th grader was raped. ( although the district, still denies that this occurred)</p>
<p>Apparently, not only were there not enough chaperones, ( district guidelines call for 1:10 ratio), but there were no male chaperones and the female chaperones were asleep with headphones on.
But instead of pledging to enforce guidelines, the school principal has commanded that there will be ZERO overnight field trips this year. This is at a school where virtually every year there are opportunities to compete at Lincoln Center in the Jazz competition. To run track in Eastern Washington or Oregon in regional events. To tour Europe with the AP Euro teacher, or hunt for marine fossils on a 7,000 ft peak in the North Cascades.
Its a big part of why parents move to the neighborhood, &/or pull their kids out of private schools to attend.</p>
<p>Parents and students I imagine are up in arms. Field trips are where some of the most relevant learning occurs.
I chaperoned on an overnight trip when my daughter was in 10th grade, and while the teacher had to enlist chaperones from partially retired teachers and his peers, there were plenty of adults, ( although I was the only female chaperone which surprised me)</p>
<p>My older daughter attended private school, and the school hired extra staff to supervise on overnight field trips. ( the ratio was also much smaller than the public school to begin with.) But I was wondering what other schools and districts do?
Do you let your kids go on the field trips, whether they be short or long?
Do you consider them an important part of their education?</p>
<p>Until high school, all my son’s field trips were heavily chaperoned by parent volunteers. One trip to DC, we had so many parents along, that some weren’t really needed. I fought for field trips, as a parent and a school board member. If done well, they are incredibly enriching. By high school, the trips to other countries were chaperoned by teachers only, but parents could still help out with more local trips. Some of my favorite memories are traveling with my son’s Scholars Bowl team to MIT, Yale, Chicago and Orlando for competitions. I also helped fundraise for these trips, so everyone could afford to attend.</p>
<p>No Barron’s, you perhaps wouldn’t " expect it" but perhaps it should be anticipated.
Fifteen year olds can be unpredictable and impulsive.
That’s why they need chaperones.</p>
<p>In the case that prompted ( after two years) a change in protocol, the teacher was not supervising in the evening, there were no male chaperones present and the female chaperone was in another room wearing headphones.
Apparently the rape occurred on the 2nd night of the trip after chaos reigned the first night.</p>
<p>Banning all overnight field trips to me is an overreaction - punishing the well behaved groups along with the badly behaved ones. I have chaperoned a band trip to Disney and a trip to France. The kids are told if they cause problems that future trips for the group may be curtailed. The French teacher is very well loved by the kids and there have not been problems on the trips that take place every other year. The other language teachers do not take group trips. The band trips hire security guards to patrol the halls at night, as it is a larger group and includes freshmen through seniors. My kids have gone overnight for various state and national events. It would be a shame if all that was discontinued.</p>
<p>I’ve never felt that most field trips today were for the benefit of the students. I almost always felt they were arranged for the benefit of someone else. I’m not a big fan of “field trips”. </p>
<p>I’d be more of a fan if they ever went to factories, or to the Naval Academy, but those aren’t the typical destinations. </p>
<p>I’ve been raped also, as a teen, and I didn’t even report it, because of the way victims are treated.
Nothing like being vicitimized twice.
This girl reported it & she was examined by the hospital and they concluded that she was raped.
The rapist even admitted to an official that he did not pay attention when she tried to make him stop.
I don’t know why you are adamant that a crime didn’t occur, Barron’s.
Why do you think THII is finally trying to change things?</p>
<p>I agree that field trips are very valuable, as it lets the kids show what they’ve learned in real life situations.
My oldest started overnight field trips when she was 5, in a cooperative program.
The next year, when she went to a different school, they started off the year with an all school field trip. ( at a park in the city, which had cabins).
My husband always got the honors to participate in her overnight trips, perhaps that is why they have a much better relationship today, than she and I do.
But when she entered 6th gd and changed schools again, no parents on field trips.
It wasn’t until her sister began public school in third grade, that I got to being more involved again.</p>
<p>The field trips need to be well designed, but my experience was that they were.
For instance, when oldest was in 1st grade, they had an overnight to Pioneer farms.
( where they have class in a one room school house,gathered eggs, helped to shear sheep and card the wool, made soap & butter, etc)
This was a culmination of a year long focus on the Oregon trail, including writing a daily journal of their wagon, in the voice of their character. D was in heaven as she had read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.
She wasn’t even six and I carefully packed so that she would have plenty of warm clothes.
But she wore the same dress with a pinafore, for the entire trip, because that’s what the pioneers would have done!
:)</p>