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Field Trips:

Education and Public Relations Opportunities

Shelli Simons

Texas Home School Coalition Association REVIEW © August 2003

The ability to participate with other home schoolers in activities such as field trips is one of the great benefits of joining a local support group, right?

·         Everything will run smoothly. 

·         The participants will behave as model citizens that parents of public school students will wish their children would emulate. 

·         The folks who allowed this group to tour their facility will comment on the fact that none of the other groups that have toured the place behaved as courteously and respectfully as your group.

·         No parent will ask to be the exception to the announced sign-up deadline, and each parent will make certain that her children will be attentive so they will benefit from this enriching experience! 

·         The field trip participants will be of one accord and will enthusiastically plan the next outing. The moms will take turns planning and scheduling the next event … They will be of one accord.

I have not often seen this happen in big groups. Think about it. Why did you begin homeschooling? It was most likely because the way things were being done at the traditional school was not acceptable. Does that make you sound like a person who will blindly accept someone else telling him what to do or how to do something? We home educators are an independent lot. 

Have you heard or read the saying about leading home schoolers being like trying to “herd cats”? Trying to work with a group of individual home schools for the sake of a field trip can be just as frustrating. I have mentioned to people who puzzle at things home schoolers do that we home schoolers “don’t stand in straight lines, and we color outside the lines.” It also must be a force of nature: Wherever two or more home schoolers are gathered, the need to communicate is a driving force. It is not only the children. Moms have a thirst for socialization as well. Deadlines and schedules? What are those? Day-to-day in our home schools, we abide by our own rules. Your rules are probably different than those of others in your support group.

I encourage membership in a local home school group. Joining will provide contact with other home schoolers who will encourage you and answer questions you will have. These groups usually offer meetings for families, moms’ gatherings, co-op classes, athletic and academic classes, and, yes, field trips. Of greatest importance, you will find a support network. There will be those with whom your common bond is home schooling. From within the network, there will be those with whom you find a deeper common ground--You share similar goals and expectations for your families.

Near the end of our home schooling experience, I found that the most beneficial field trips were those planned by folks who were like-minded in their expectations for the outings. The groups were kept small. If a child’s mind seemed to wander, any one of the parents could draw his attention back to the topic at hand. No one was hurt or offended, because we were in agreement on the purpose. We were of one accord.

Our family has participated in field trips in two different states since we started home schooling. In both states, we have gone on some field trips that were beneficial for all and others that I left feeling ashamed of the students and their parents. We were guests, and we reflected disinterest and disrespect.

No matter what your goals and expectations, keep in mind that whether you want to or not, you represent all home schoolers when you identify yours as a home school group. This is the same as when you identify yourself by your family name or the name of Christ. If you do not respect others in your behavior, they will lose respect for what or whom you represent.

I do not want to discourage anyone from taking advantage of field trip opportunities. I would just encourage you to choose your field trips wisely. Consider the interest level of your children and the “mix” that would distract them from the goals you set. If needed, organize a small, like-minded group to go to the same place later. Weigh the benefits of the field trip against the time that will be taken from your other school time.

Field trips can be very beneficial for reinforcing your lessons or can serve as springboards for the next areas of study. Some activities, such as going to museums and attending concerts or plays, can help the student become a well-rounded individual. Sometimes group/student discounts are available.* Visiting different businesses might spark a student’s interest in what he will eventually discover to be his calling. Our little home school was able to see and learn many interesting things and to attend plays and student day symphony concerts because there were support group members who had the ideas and motivation to make the arrangements. 

Proverbs 4:7 states, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”  Pray for wisdom as you choose all your activities, and enjoy the field trips that will benefit your family!

  *THSC Association membership entitles the member family to a student I.D. card for each child in the family as well as a teacher I.D. card for each parent; these could prove helpful in receiving discounts for field trip activities. (For details, go to www.thsc.org.) 

Meet Shelli Simons 

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