The majority of students say that they have experienced life changing events during their high school years. Students usually remember field trips or guest speakers with enjoyable memories throughout elementary and middle school, but high schoolers find themselves questioning where they went. Field trips and guest speakers should become a larger part of high school education.

Everybody indulges in different interests and opinions, therefore some may not favor a certain subject while others excel. If schools offer more activities like field trips or guest speakers, teenagers would have the opportunity to see the importance of these subjects. This, in the long run, will cause the students to come to class – increasing the attendance in the school.

While some may worry about the cost of field trips, others claim prices seem more reasonable.  The average class houses roughly 30 students. If one class went on a trip to the Museum of Natural Science including a meal and tickets to the museum, planetarium, butterfly exhibit, and a movie, it would cost each student about $25-30, according to the museum’s website. Then again the participants do not have to go to all the extra exhibits, and that would cost each individual about $15. Therefore, all the students do not need to pay a lot of money. The students can get the same information with only half the price to pay.

Skilled workers could even come and talk about their profession. For example, in an English class an author or poet could visit and explain the best ways to write a paper or story. Students usually claim they will never have to use math in the real world, so a math class could have a construction worker or have engineers come and talk about how big of an impact math can have outside of school. Although a guest speaker does not have the same interactive element as a museum, the students will still learn and get an idea on what the class teaches.

Field trips ultimately will have a greater effect on students by encouraging them to interact with the subjects they struggle with. Core class field trips and guest speakers should not have to stop when students reach high school since the need for their purpose grows.