What Happened to School Trips?

Hanover- As a young middle schooler I remember how excited I was when my dad left. Before you make any assumptions let me explain myself. My dad left for the annual school trip to Europe, so he was only going to be gone for a week. I was very excited for him, because I thought going to another continent was the coolest thing ever at the time. He would come back full of souvenirs for us, and stories about his adventures. He made Europe sound like another planet. As a 6th grader, I could not wait for the day I got to experience it for myself. But by the time I got to high school, they were no longer going on the trip, or even any trip at all. Freshman year, a small group of kids went to Costa Rica for a couple days, but no other trips have been offered since.

So what happened? Well, after extensive research, I have determined the main reason we no longer go on international school trips is the safety concerns. When I asked Mrs. Adkins why we no longer go on international trips, this was her response.

Q: Why does the school no longer offer a trip to Europe, or any other countries?

A: In 2016 the Brussels bombing took place. We were scheduled to fly into Amsterdam airport, which was close to the brussels airport, where the attack took place. Because of this, Mr Hile cancelled the trip because the terrorists were promising more attacks. Naming places such as airports, restaurants, landmarks, ect. Basically all the places scheduled on our trip. Since then it's been hard to build up excitement because of terrorist attacks and other issues. When it comes to our students, safety is our number one priority.

Basically, she is saying that it became too dangerous for our school to make the trip. Unfortunately terrorism has ruined things for many people, and because of their constant threats, people are more cautious when traveling. Ultimately, Mr. Hile didn’t want to take that risk. Personally, I think he made the right decision. Europe has seen a rise in terrorist attacks since then and unless things improve I doubt we go back for a long while.

Although we no longer go on international trips, I still think we could have great experiences here in the U.S. There are many places inside the U.S where we can experience different cultures and I think an educational trip would bring the clases together. I think it would be easy to get students interested, as long as the location was interesting. Personally I think a trip out west would be very exciting and beneficial to the student body. Students work better when they have something to look forward to, and a school trip would be a great motivator.