Remember those field trips you used to take in school? Maybe you went to the zoo or a museum. Perhaps it was even an overnight trip, like the NRHEG 5th-graders take to Eagle Bluff every year.
Do you recall your teachers being a bit stressed on those days? Were they scurrying around, making sure everyone was in a straight line or had their lunches or got on the bus when they were supposed to? You probably really enjoyed your field trips, but I imagine it wasn’t thoroughly enjoyable for your chaperones.
I’ve rarely been part of field trips; taking middle schoolers out in public is treacherous at best. I had a group attend a play one time, which was completely enclosed and easy to keep track of everyone. However, we also, as a school, took kids to ValleyFair and even the Mall of America over the years. That was stressful!
Michelle and I had the opportunity to chaperone on the recent band trip to San Antonio. I remembered all the areas of stress from previous experiences, but also figured that band kids are generally well-behaved. Perhaps a trip to San Antonio would be fun.
And it was. But the stress levels don’t really leave you until every kid is picked up upon the return home. I got to see and experience things that were wonderful while in Texas, but there were also situations I dreaded and others that were unexpected in adding to the stress.
Kids are generally good. Most of them don’t really want to do things that they know will antagonize others. Still, put a bunch of them together, 40 in the case of the band trip, and some loopiness is bound to ensue, especially after a long bus ride.
Chaperones take on a lot of responsibility. Our job was to make sure kids were where they were supposed to be at all times, staying out of trouble, and staying healthy. We had kids get sick, suffer a few bruises, lose things, find things, meet new and interesting people, deal with drama, and even watch this chaperone dial 9-1-1 at one point.
What kids in small towns don’t always know is how much different it is when you’re in a big city like San Antonio. You don’t just jaunt across the street after glancing, maybe, both ways. You can’t just hang out after dark in any part of town. You will not know almost everyone around. A few of our kids learned these lessons, especially after encountering traffic that you never find on the streets of New Richland, Hartland, Ellendale, or Geneva.
Some also discovered that there are kind people everywhere. One of the students had dropped something near the Riverwalk, and a young gentleman quickly recovered it and returned it to her. He was polite and concerned. She was grateful. It was a wonderful time to see that people are really the same, no matter where you are.
The hotel became a place where I thought we could maybe let our guard down a bit, but that didn’t happen until after room checks at 10 each night. Even then, Michelle reminded me that we had to be prepared and ready, just in case an emergency came up in the middle of the night. Luckily, none did. We taped the outside of each door every night, so as to see if anyone snuck out after curfew, but the tape was always in place the next morning.
It was when the kids were out of sight at various times that the stress level was amped up a bit. The kids had freedom to roam at the Riverwalk one evening after performing, and it was dark by the time they checked in. Even then, not everyone was on time because they didn’t account for how busy the foot traffic was. They also had some shopping time at a mall and a Mexican market. My words to them were always this: “Don’t get arrested, and don’t die.” They all obeyed!
Being at the Alamodome with over 60,000 people was another concern as a chaperone. There was no way to keep a group of 40 together at all times, since there were constantly people in the halls. Kids had to go to different locations and trudge from the third level down to the bowels of the stadium at times. However, they all found their way, albeit sometimes on a divergent path.
The final hurdle arrived as we loaded the bus outside the Alamodome to go home. An intoxicated man wandered over and was bothering some of the kids. This was where 9-1-1 came in. He was noticeably taller and stronger than me, so after he wouldn’t leave right away, I pulled out my phone. He finally headed out after Mr. Otstot joined me in telling him to leave.
Keeping our kids safe is always a priority, whether it is in school or on an activity outside the school walls. Every coach knows that anxiety of not having the right number of kids on the bus, just as every chaperone is in a constant state of worry over the kids being okay. We’re always watching over our students; going on long trips with them gives us whole new insights into who they are and helps strengthen our desire to keep them all safe and sound.
Anybody eager to chaperone any time soon?
Word of the Week: This week’s word is amaxophobia, which means the fear of riding in a vehicle, as in, “Nobody with amaxophobia would last long on the 20-hour bus ride to San Antonio.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!