Take 20 teens, sprinkle in a pinch of chaos, and add an Oscar-winning speaker. What do you get? A field trip for the ages that somehow ends with all kids accounted for—more or less.

Oct 01, 2012 4:48:14 am

So, it’s official. I’ve finally lost what was left of my mind. I’m hosting a field trip tomorrow afternoon made up of about 12 Drama Babies and 8 GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) kids. Granted, we’re not going THAT far – Doumar’s then ODU to see Dustin Lance Black speak about his play “8” about California’s Prop 8, but still, twenty 15 to 17-year-olds from 4 to 9:30. Vegas now taking bets on which one of them will appear on a milk carton first.

Oct 02, 2012 4:35:50 am

I was wrong … NOW starts the longest day of the year. Up at 4:30 to rewrite 15 pages of script because my kids aren’t bringing the funny, teach, rehearsals from 2-4:30 (today is costuming, oh goody. Drama Babies playing dress up) and then field trip from 4:30 to 9:30. Not enough caffeine in the world …

Someone do me a favor. Around 8:00 drive up to ODU, look for my corpse and drag it to a secure location. I know my kids, you leave it laying around like that, they’ll dress it up and use it for play prop. Rather an ignoble epilogue to an otherwise plebeian life. Aw crap, too much Willy Shakes and look at me flexing the SAT vocab… I need a drink.

Oct 02, 2012 4:23:50 pm

BAWAHAHAHAA!!!!!

I LOVE my drama babies. Just got off the bus at ODU & gave the standard “best behavior or I will end you” speech. One of the GSA kids laughed derisively, and a drama baby called him to task with “No, she’s not kidding! Last year we had a tech kid that stole a phone out of Frankie’s backpack … We haven’t seen him since. Not at theater, not in school, he just doesn’t exist anymore…”

Dying here!!!!

Oct 02, 2012 9:26:32 pm

Left with 21 kids. Came back with 21 kids. Can’t guarantee they’re the same 21 kids but I’m still calling it a win. Also calling it quits – I’m beat. Peace out!

Oct 03, 2012 4:42:13 am

Made it home by 10:20, bed by 11, still exhausted, ugh! The kids were wonderfully behaved, for the most part. They’ve earned the privilege of me trying to get another field trip approved. This time we’re going to try and go see “8” at William & Mary. Dustin Lance Black was an inspired speaker, the kids were completely stoked after his presentation and I was thrilled that a large part of his message was ‘be who YOU are,’ something my kids hear over and over from me but when you hear it from an academy award winner (for best original screen play, the movie Milk) it carries quite a bit of weight. I’m hoping the pleasure of a field trip gone well will carry me through the day because, by the gods, there is no way I make it through today without some help.

See, this is where my ego gets me every time. After years of classroom management—perfecting the balancing act of kids, paperwork, instruction, and the many “other” duties—I convince myself that taking kids on a field trip is just like classroom teaching, albeit al fresco.

I’m wrong. I’m wrong every damn time.

First, field trips are about ten times more exhausting than “everyday” teaching. The stress of constant head-counting, herding, and in every way imaginable trying to protect the kids from outside dangers (and frequently from themselves) drains you faster than you think.

Second, we’re all thrown out of our orchestrated, well-regulated environment. For me, that means more thinking on my feet—which already hurt—and coming up with creative solutions to unexpected problems.

For the kids, it’s like releasing a ferret on a double espresso into a showroom full of disco mirror balls. Overstimulated and distracted, they forget they even have prefrontal cortexes let alone how to use them.

Then there’s the physical toll. The aching feet (did I mention the feet already?), back, legs, and the headache that feels like an encore performance. Not to mention the joy of waking up at O’mygawdthirty, when the universe hasn’t even decided if it’s worth existing yet. Will this day ever end?

And yet, over my teaching career, I VOLUNTEERED to sponsor over 18 field trips. At this point, I’m questioning my intelligence. Or maybe, just maybe, I thrive on the chaos. Either that, or I have a masochistic streak a mile wide.

What’s the most chaotic or hilarious field trip memory you have—either as a teacher, parent, or student?

If you had to pick a single survival tool for a field trip, what would it be?

What’s your most memorable (or chaotic) school field trip experience?

Have you ever had an inspirational moment at an event you almost skipped due to exhaustion?

How would you handle losing your teacher on a field trip? Asking for a friend…