Madsen announced this afternoon with great excitement, that the 8th graders do get to go on their over night field trip to visit the universities all over the state. This trip is over night and costs $140! The universities they visit are UNC-Wilmington (out on the beach 2 hours away) UNC-Greensboro (1.5 hours west)and East Carolina University, in the mountains (if you can call them mountains) but still 2 hours away. Why not visit Duke, NC-State and UNC-Chapel Hill? All within 30 minutes. The distance requires chartered buses and an overnight stay in a hotel. These are 13 year old kids! I am so opposed to this whole thing. I do not think it is appropriate to take kids this age (or any age under 18) over night. I think it is asking for trouble even with parent chaperones who, by the way, also have to pay the fee and are not allowed on the bus so they get to drive. I don't believe that teachers really look forward to the experience and I do not think it benefits the kids in the way the teachers are hoping.
It ticks me off that we are asked to pay so much for this. And the paperwork always asks for donations for those kids who can not afford to go. Call me crazy, but whether I can afford it or not, I do not budget $140 per field trip! We hear constantly about the economic hardships all around us and budget cuts everywhere, including the schools asking for parents to send in supplies like copy paper! Why then do they think it is ok to plan a trip that costs this much money?
Will my kid be the only one not going just because I do not want to pay for it since I do not approve? Maybe I should ask him if he would rather go in this trip with kids he doesn't like or go to Utah this summer to see his family he does like. It costs about the same!
Maybe I should tell him that he can go if he earns the money, and not just from his allowance, he will actually have to work for other people doing anything they will pay him to do. We will see how important this trip is to him!
I am pretty sure an e-mail to the school will be happening.
On a different note, Cannon's homework for the day is to change words like carry, hurry study and cry to past tense. He is in kindergarten! yay for a smart kid who gets to do work that is more to his level than still sounding out letter sounds with everyone else in his class! :)
Feb-May 2026
4 weeks ago
21 comments:
I would be growly about this too, it made me think of the trip the Bailey middle-schoolers took to Mesa Verde. That sounds like my perfect nightmare - if I were a teacher.
I was wondering if Danae enjoyed the Mesa Verde trip when she was in 7th grade? Did they do that then? It was not a nightmare, exactly, but stressful. We did have an adult with every 5-6 kids and it only cost a few dollars, like $5-10 per kid to pay for bus drivers, camping space and tickets to the some of the ruins. They also planned and brought their own food. We also felt like that experience was worthwhile. All that being said, I agree with Danae that there are plenty of universities nearby that can be a day trip for the kids and cost way less than $140.00. Did any of you besides Sheila go to Sea Camp in 8th grade? She worked really hard to earn the money for that trip, saved every penny she got for birthday and Christmas, participated in all the fund raisers etc. and in the end felt really proud of having done that on her own. They ended up making that a parent sponsored trip instead of school sponsored. Danae should definitely express her opinion!
And, yay for Cannon and his teachers that are paying attention to him!
That is outrageous. That sounds more like a trip appropriate for Juniors or Seniors, but I still don't like the idea of an overnight trip. I wouldn't let my kids go. That is just asking for trouble. And the price??? Wow. Couldn't they take them on a day trip to the schools within 30 minutes if they felt it so necessary? I'd be up in arms with you!
I realized that I never got to go on the Mesa Verde trip or to Sea Camp. Probably because I'm the oldest and lots of things that the youngers get to do, the oldest doesn't. (Read: car, sleeveless prom dresses . . . ) so I have changed my position: let him go but don't let any of his sibs ever do it. That way he will never feel like the poor pitiful oldest who had to break ground for the youngers who reaped the benefits of his misery. Just sayin'. ( I don't really feel like the poor pitiful oldest).
Sheila was the only one who went to sea camp. Di and Tam went to track camp at BYU, I did not. Sheila was the only one who got a car. Hmmm, looks like I was the cheated one! :)
That's because you're adopted. Mom and Dad don't love you as much.
P.S. They obviously love me most, because I got to go to Spain, and that is way better than track camp or sea camp.
I guess that explains it all! Thanks Tam. At least I am the pretty one! totally joking and I know you all know that!
I think our husbands would argue in each of our favor who is "the pretty one." At least I hope Patrice thinks I am the pretty one! But, if you want to be the pretty one to make up for being the neglected one, that's okay! (wink wink!)
that's ok, I am the favorite one now so they are making up for lost time in my youth.
Wait a minute, they told me I am the favorite one when they were here in November!
See, one of the perks of being oldest is that you are, in fact, and never to be replaced - the favorite.
So I guess that means Madsen should get to go on his field trip, being the favorite and all...
As I said earlier . . .
Di- UPDATE your Blog! I am sure things have happened since October!
The benefit of being the youngest (and the favorite) is that you learn from all your big siblings what you can and can't get away with and if you smile sweetly and bay your eyes just right... And for what it is worth, I paid for my own car and sea camp! ;-)
Ok. Ok. I'll update my blog. Things have happened since October, that's why I haven't updated. It's on the list of things to do, in case you're wondering. Russell would roll his eyes, he thinks being on the list means being shoved into a black hole.
p.s. I think Danaes wins the prize for most comments ever on a Madsen girl blog post.
*Danae
yay for me! I thought of making that 3 comment posts but decided not to!
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