Another field trip event!
Although field trips are a tremendous amount of work they do have excellent learning opportunities. Plans and decisions have to be made. Kids have to be well prepared to take advantage of what they see.
For a few years my school took all the gr. 8 classes to a professional theater performance. We had to go 140 km (95 mi) to attend a professional performance. We were able to get a back stage tour and conversation with actors after the performance. We learned a bit about the play before we went. Then there were all those forms parents had to sigh to let their kid go on the trip.
So for 150 kids we had five buses and a whole lot of volunteer supervisors.
The big day came and we loaded the buses. One teacher was in charge of each bus and had a list of students, volunteers and teachers who were to be on that bus. I checked each bus if they had everybody before I said "Let's go."
When we got to the theater, somebody asked "Where's Bill?" We soon discovered that Bill wasn't there and had been left at the school. Now Bill was the head drama guy and had arranged all things with the theater. Bill knew what was to be going on.
I immediately started to worry because, I had left Bill behind.
I decided that the best thing for me to do was meet with Bill and have the chat. When we got back to the school Bill had gone home. As soon as I got home I got on the phone. I phoned Bill's house and his mother-in-law answered. She was laughing and thought it was funny. I did get Bill later in the evening. He was disappointed but not greatly upset.
He had gone back into the school to get his tie and jacket. He'd been on the bus and left to go back in the school. He knew part of it was his fault.
So that's the only time I left a teacher behind.
