At Perry Meridian High School, we do not take enough field trips. In elementary school, we took field trips all the time to a variety of places, including museums, baseball games and the zoo. 

During high school, however, I have been on very few. While I enjoyed going to the museum and Conner Prairie in elementary school, I would appreciate the experience more in my high school life. I have a greater appreciation for places like museums at 18 than I did when I was 10. 

Therefore, it makes little sense that we would not have more opportunities, as high schoolers, to explore interesting places and gain experiences like we did when we were younger. I still distinctly remember my field trips from elementary and middle school and the impact they had on me. 

But what I remember even more distinctly are the few field trips that I have taken in high school. For example, being able to go to the cultural festival was illuminating and allowed the opportunity to explore a variety of cultures, offering a unique experience that I will remember forever. 

Students who are at a disadvantage because of income or living situation benefit even more from field trips than normal schools. Field trips help to build various skills and interests. 

According to Educationext.org, a website focused on the learning of students and addressing issues surrounding schools, “students randomly assigned to receive a school tour of an art museum experienced improvements in their knowledge and ability to think critically… and are more likely to visit such cultural institutions as art museums in the future. If schools cut field trips… then these important educational opportunities are lost.”

Not everything can be learned sitting in a classroom. Field trips offer students an interesting way to learn of other ideas that are not taught in class and expand on the ideas that they were taught.