My Final School Visit!

During my final visit to WMS, I was told soon after I had arrived that the students would be taking a field trip to VPR (Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS station headquarters), and I would help accompany the teachers as a chaperone. I was thrilled to get a different kind of experience with the students, and I was also anxious to see how the two combined classes (both the first and second sections of the classes I am normally observing) behave in a real world setting. Upon arrival, the students were brought into the broadcasting room where cooking shows, news segments, and other programs are normally filmed. There was a green screen set up in the room, a teleprompter, and a camera that all of the students took turns at using. The students were also brought into the tech rooms to see switchboards, TV monitors, and other behind the scene operations that occur at television networks.

Overall, the students were very engaged in the trip and asked questions frequently, raised their hands to ask questions instead of shouting out, answered the questions that the VPR employees posed to the students, and were very excited and engaged when analyzing, using, and playing with different types of equipment (cameras, teleprompters, green screen, etc.). The students liked the green screen in particular, and when one of the employees brought out a green towel for the students to use along with the green screen, the students were ecstatic to see that their bodies would disappear when they covered themselves with the green sheet (they then learned why this was occurring). Not only did the students learn a great deal from the experience, the hands on learning also got the students involved and interested in radio and television careers. It was especially nice to witness some of the students who were actually interested in going into the broadcasting field smiling, laughing, and showing an immense deal of intrigue and enthusiasm when they were learning about the station.

Taking students on field trips are inevitable when one wants to aspire to be a teacher. Taking a group as rambunctious as the WMS students could prove to be challenging, but field trips are a really great way to give students a break from typical textbook learning and investigate some opportunities that they can pursue after high school. It allows students to see the benefits of working hard in school to get a career/job that is enjoyable for them. Visiting VPR is especially nice for students because both college and high school graduates can pursue careers at such an institution. Field trips are fun, educational, and provide students with a real-world view into many different jobs within society. Although field trips can be stressful for teachers because they have to keep track of so many kids, ensure that their students behave, and also ensure that students are engaged in the trip as not to be rude to the employees; they are also a great educational tool for all students. I cannot wait to see some of my students in the future get so excited and involved in various field trips!