One way in which British school curriculum differs from its American counterpart is in the quantity of school field trips. As they bring variety to frequently dull coursework as well as often become an effective tool for learning certain topics, we are quite happy that our girls are exposed to that.
Consider. In this trimester already, Becky has been to the Eltham Palace for a field study of Art Deco, on a day-trip to France structured around culinary arts, and on a visit to Buddhist and Hindu temples as part of religious studies (she does not like the subject, but she very much liked the trip). There are five or six more of these scheduled for the rest of the school year.
Public schools are not far behind in taking kids out of the classroom and into some interesting environments. Kimmy, for instance, has been this year to a storytelling workshop. And today, the trip was to the British Museum – her favorite. She likes it mainly because she can normally get an activity backpack there (these backpacks provide a semi-scripted way to engage children in appreciation of different artifacts). Visiting with her entire class, there was no chance of getting a backpack, but the children were taken around the museum and shown many interesting things, according to Kimmy. More trips will follow for her class, as well.
I can’t recall more than one or two trips in a school year in America…