More field trips? Yes, please.

It is a calm sunny morning, you pack your bags and get ready to go on a interesting fieldtrip, on the ride you talk with your friends and once you arrive and you are fascinated because you have just set foot in the old town of Zurich! The lake is as clear as glass, and the sky is bluer than ever. The structure of the buildings are like nothing you have seen before casting shadows through the streets. “Alright everyone, let’s get started.”

Field trips, like the one described above, can be really fun and exhilarating, but it is also a positive way for learning. We think we should have more field trips for Zurich International School because we think it is a good way to be outside school and still learn something. We were thinking of going to places more nearby. These trips we are suggesting will still be following the school guidelines: learn, challenge, lead and care.

Some of the places we thought of going to are the zoo to learn about rare species of animals, going to museums to learn about old Zurich or to go to the old town of Zurich where we can look at old historical buildings and understand the culture of Switzerland.

“I would like to go to the north pole to swim with the penguins.”

7th Grade Student at Zurich International School said in the survey

Survey Replies

about where they think would be a good place to have a field trip, to be honest none of them were particularly serious and they were mostly like “ I want to go to the north pole to swim with the penguins” or “ Going to Africa". There was one that was more useful for us, “ We could go to the museum to learn about the history and how Zurich was and what it is now.” This answer is ideal because it is very educational and would involve either one of the ZIS character standards like learning or challenges. We can learn from visiting museums because this can affect our knowledge by learning about it. There is no doubt that the primary role of museums is to engage and educate the community. Museum exhibits inspire interest in an area of study, item, periods, or an idea– but there's more going on in museums regarding education than one might think. Schools rely heavily on museums to enhance their curriculum. like Nordamerika Native Museum NOMAN, Swiss national Museum, Zurich tram Museum and the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich

Kids would like to have field trips because they have bonding time with each other and the teachers especially for the new kids, it is most likely that is where they are going to meet their friends. Zurich is a very special place from the stores to the lake. The amazingly detailed buildings and the beautiful lively events. This is why the school should be taking advantage of what we have here.

Enhancing social skills

Adding more field trips will enhance social skills because students explore the city and other places together. To support my point, the CoronaVirus has been a major setback for social time with friends, that is why it would be important for students to go out on a field trip to help with socializing with people and communicating over interesting topics about the field trips. So we think it would also be important to have field trips to improve better social skills.

Academic impact

“Field-based learning increases test scores,” says a recent study by Emilyn Ruble Whitesell. The study showed that middle school students who participate in a science field trip through the Urban Advantage program score better on the state science test. Field trips and hands-on learning make concepts more memorable. Just think back to what you learned in school, the field trips you took, and what you learned on them are still some of the clearest concepts.” says website explorable places. We both think this is very persuasive. This shows that field trips can be quite essential for learning and getting better test scores. In the evidence, it says how going on field trips or making it fun can be crucial because then it makes what you’re learning more memorable. We think this could be key for learning and having fun at the same time.

We think it is fundamental to have more field trips because it is a good way to be outside but also a good way to learn things about the place we live in and its history. Also, this would be a good way to enhance social skills by being around other classmates and working together, That is why we should include more field trips to the learning curriculum.