Nothing brings me more joy than a good old-fashioned field trip.
This time, the destination was Mendez Tribute Monument Park, which honors Sylvia Mendez and the landmark California court case that preceded Brown v. Board of Education. The case effectively desegregated schools in California, with Earl Warren serving as governor at the time — the same Earl Warren who would later become Chief Justice and write the opinion on Brown. The same Earl Warren my college at UCSD was named after.
The park itself, however, wasn’t much of a park. More like a mini-park. A lawyer came out to speak to the students about the case, but the talk lasted maybe five minutes. Then the kids walked around the monuments, which took another fifteen. So… was the field trip worth it? I’m not entirely sure.
What was worth it, though, was what happened next. I took the kids across the street because they saw a nearby fire station. They wanted to see the firefighters, so I asked if we could get a quick tour. The firefighters were happy to oblige, and the students were way more engaged with them than they had been with the lawyer at the park. I could see it in their eyes – all smiles. Shrug. Firefighting is one career that gets all the love – especially in comparison to cops, ICE agents, and of course teachers.
The final side quest of the day involved walking the students about twelve minutes to Jamba Juice and Chipotle for lunch. It deeply reminded me of my RKMS days, when we’d walk students to random adventures all over Los Angeles (like the movies and Bobatime).
In the end, I’m not sure the field trip was particularly educational, but I do think the social development piece matters, especially for IB students. They deserve some fun in their lives, and I hope I was able to give them a little joy this season before they return to the grind that is school and the IB program for the rest of the school year.
It also tells me something about myself. Maybe I’m not the best fit for IB, because I’d much rather have fun with students on a slightly meaningless field trip than lecture them excessive amounts of historical information.
