Would you allow your teen to go on a school trip out of the country without one of their parent, if so and why
It doesn't fit our family for the week in Aruba type trips with school but are currently considering a French tour ,general European trip and a tour of Great Britain.
Our older two had wonderful times.Our school starts in middle school with trips out of the state for a week then by the summer after eighth they start leaving the country.
Our school does a language immersion program in Israel for the 10th graders every year. They go from Thanksgiving to New Years. You bet that if she is still at the school in 10th grade (her brother left at 9th) that she will go. There is no way I would let him miss out on such an amazing experience.
I can understand the anxiety from the moms as I was one of them a few months ago. Our daughter started her freshman year at a new school in August 2011. Throughout the previous school year, my friend told me about an art teacher who takes students (whoever wants to go) on an "international" trip every other year. Our friend, whose son is two years older, was already fundraising for this trip the previous year. Immediately upon starting her freshman year, the teacher introduced the incoming freshman to the Europe trip which was scheduled for June 2012. Of course, my initial reaction was, "Where is the money going to come from?" and then "Are you kidding me? She's too young!" My husband insisted that she go, that we would find the money somehow, and that she may not have this opportunity in her junior year. The conversation was in front of my mom who immediately said, "Let her go, I'll pay." What could I say?! I was outnumbered. Although the money issue was taken care of, I continued to worry - this kid had never been away from home for more than two days, let alone two weeks OUT OF THE COUNTRY! There was also the opportunity for drinking (no age limit in Europe); just looking at the newly-graduated girls scared me. I wasn't alone - even moms of sophomore and junior boys were scared/worried. But, at the airport, we hugged her and said our goodbyes - she never turned around, not even going through the security check point. She called MAYBE three times during the whole trip. A few of the newly-graduated girls took care of her and stuck to her like glue; the ones I was worried about did, in fact, get in trouble and phone calls were made to the parents; and, she LOVED it the whole time!! She didn't want to come home! The teacher absolutely loves her and introduced her to the now sophomore class as their only classmate that went on this trip. She has made an exception to the every other year rule and is taking a group to Greece/Rome in March. Needless to say, she wants Cassy there. Yeah, sure - another $5K in a couple months?!? I've seen our girl grow up a bit (even dressing very "girly" and buying clothes in Paris I never imagined she would wear) but she now has a new sense of independence and an "I can do it" attitude. I laughed when she said the senior girls, as well as the teacher, lost electronics, but not my "too young" one. :) It's scary, I know, but I have come to realize that it was a great experience for her (thank God for grandma); and when we watched the Olympics together, she kept saying "Yeah, mom, we were right there!" It is such a wonderful feeling knowing our daughter had such an awesome experience. BTW-they went to London, Paris, Nice, Venice, and Austria. Talk about jealous! :) I would like to add, though, that I also know of another private school who went on a trip to Spain. That was a complete disaster resulting in kids getting expelled from school. You have to go with your gut. The teacher my girl went with has done 22 trips out of the country - I suppose deep down inside I knew my girl would be fine. But, as a mom, you will ALWAYS worry no matter who they're with. In hindsight, it was best that she went without any of her friends; this way, she paid attention rather than played around. Now to complete the project for her social studies credit. :(
I did. My dd went to France on a school trip when she was a sophomore. They had a super packed itinerary and an awesome time. We felt like it would be an wonderful experience for her and it was.
I cannot stand her best friend.....
- sockslady
on Aug. 22, 2012 at 4:44 PM