 FIELD TRIPS--GENERAL DISCUSSION

S.NO. POSSIBLE DIFFICULTIES

1. Lack of Support from :

i) School authority.

ii) Teacher - colleagues.

iii) Parents.

iv) Students.

2. Financial need/shortage of fund.

3. Lack of facilities for such item like transport.

4. Shortage of time due to rigid time table and heavy syllabus.

5. Non-Cooperation of the people at the place of visit.

6. Management problem of the students and indiscipline; large number of students and their attitude.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION/COMMENTS, IF ANY.

1. If the field-trip has a definite objective and the need is realised, it is expected that all should support the effort. The teacher has to convince others to get their support. A teacher is expected to motivate the students.

Many a time all of them may be equally enthusiatic like the teacher organising the trip.

2. Parents can be requested to contribute. Most of the schools do have provision from pupils' fund to contribute for the trip. Further, shortage of fund school not come in the way. One can think over such field-trip which requires little money or no money.

3. It is a part of the system. If the school does not have its own buses, obviously one has to hire it. Many a time it is not impossible to get help of people (e.g. a parent) by using the inherited resources in the school. One can first think of such trip where conveyance is easily available or there is no need of transport.

4. Field trip is usually connected with the contents of syllabus. It should rather help in making the thing easy. Moreover, if the time table is always rigid and students are loaded with monotonous bookish teaching resulting heavy load, a field-trip will give some relaxation.

Further one can arrange the trip on holidays also.

5. If the trip is properly planned and informations are available with the teacher as well as the people at the place of visit, there should not be any such problem.

6. A good teacher is expected to have a good control and rapport with the students. It is suggested, for every 20 students there should be one teacher. Students should preferably be in school uniform and they should be properly briefed beforehand about the purpose of the trip and expectation from them. It should not be treated as a picnic only.

7. Lack of planning.

8. Unpreceedented difficulties :

i) Unpredictable weather.

ii) Accidents.

iii) Sudden illness of student/teacher.

iv) Non availability of expected resources on the spot.

7. The success of the trip depends on proper Organisation for it. Planning has to be done in time with all type of information and job divisions amongst the teachers and students. The objective should be clearly known to everybody which includes parents besides the students and colleagues. Proper work-sheet must be developed and students should be briefed about what to record and how to record. In no case people should think it to be a picnic only.

8. These are a part of the system and one has to face it boldly. However, one can take the precautions before hand to face the minimum difficulties. There may be accident, or a student may fall ill. One may carry a first-aid box; but that will not solve the problem for all, One has to face the reality with responsibility.