There is an old idiom that says there is no teacher like experience. And in many ways that is true.
I believe that for most of us, when we look back and examine our formal and informal education, it is the hands-on learning that cemented in a concept or skill. Which is why so many educational programs include a sizeable percentage of practical, on-the-job experience?
How many people would want to get on an airplane or visit a doctor knowing the professional they are putting their trust in only learned through reading textbooks and attending lectures?
As you will read on page 10A, we received a letter from Barrhead Composite High School Teacher Kerry-Lee Kostiw, who was frustrated about the hoops that Pembina Hills Public Schools teachers must jump through when organizing out-of-province school trips.
While Kostiw’s concern merits further discussion, what I want to discuss is the concept of extra-curricular activities, such as school trips, which have a cost attached to them that could potentially exclude students from receiving the same educational opportunities their classmates.
Public education, in my mind, is inclusive, which means everyone should have the same educational opportunities. International or extended school trips tend to be, by their very nature, exclusive activities by limiting involvement to a smal group of students, whether it be a sports team, band or a select academic course.
Then there is there are the a costs, as these excursions, for the most part, are borne by the students and their families. Yes, often there are ways to offset these costs, such as fundraising efforts, but again not all students or families can participate in those.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying schools should ban all school trip. But we should keep these hurdles in mind in an effort to finding a way to overcome them.
For example, one suggestion that was floated by Northern Gateway Public Schools superintendent Kevin Andrea about seven years ago was that schools work towards creating a policy that would give every senior high school student the opportunity to participate in one of these extended trips. He said that they don’t necessarily have to go on the trip, but they should have the opportunity.
I realize if PHPS or the schools instituted such a policy, it wouldn’t happen overnight, but the discussion needs to start somewhere.
Where ever the discussion leads, it is important to remember public education is just that public and therefore needs to be inclusive.
