I remember those days of my youth ever-so-fondly – “Don’t forget your permission slips tomorrow – we’re going to the zoo!” Or the fair, or the farm, or whatever the case may have been at the time, but regardless, I had one sleepless night ahead of me to look forward to because I knew that the next day was going to be filled with some pretty wild stuff. Whether it was live animals like hawks and snakes and weasels right in the classroom or those hands-on days out in the wilderness planting trees and observing nature firsthand, I might even be as bold to say today that I took more from those hours outside of the classroom than I ever did pouring over books for weeks and weeks on end…
Plus, anyone will tell you that those special “field trip” sack lunches are a million times better than lunch from the cafeteria any day!
That having been said, it’s always disappointing for me to hear stories of bad experiences from such school field trips, especially ones that potentially jeopardize the future of the class trip as we know it. The particular incident that sparks today’s column, unfortunately, is one that happened earlier this week right here at home in the Tampa Bay area and anyone who’s been listening to the local news probably already knows where I’m going here – it’s certainly not a pretty story, so don’t mind if I spare you some of the details.
Picture just short of the most horrible thing imaginable during a class trip to the local farm and that’s pretty much what happened when a group of students was injured during a horse demonstration in the outskirts of Tampa, FL. The animal, allegedly, simply got spooked and panicked, and although no one was killed, several of the children were injured to one degree or another…enough so that now the talk of the town is whether or not such field trips in the future are ever going to happen again. And although I do believe that all of the children involved have returned home at this point, the fate of the horse itself still remains uncertain…
Now don’t get me wrong, what happened on that farm was certainly unfortunate and my sympathies, of course, go out to the children and their families for a speedy recovery, but understand that at the same time I’m also concerned of what may become of this incident as PTO meetings are held and angry mothers and fathers argue that their children simply aren’t safe outside of the classroom. Regardless of the probability that these events actually occur in the day-to-day lives of our children, this could be the end of “the field trip” as kids around the state of Florida know it.
I don’t have children yet, but I will some day and let me just say that I hope that the administrators can take something constructive from this incident instead of just the brutal results that the news media is certain to blow out of proportion over the next few days. Kids need a variety to their academic lifestyles and if it takes a little extra planning, or even a little bit more money to ensure that they’re not deprived of such activities, then so be it – let us learn from this accident and take measures to decrease the chance of it happening again instead of simply x-ing off the farm from the list altogether.
And as for the horse itself, well let me just say that I highly doubt that the child who was knocked over by said horse is going to hold a grudge against it, so let’s just keep in mind the fact that ten seconds prior to what happened, everyone was having a good time – even the animals…
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