School Trip

steve40

bestpud wrote: »

The OP said her dd told her they were sat chatting!

This is the girl who needed calming down as she was bordering on hysterical because she had less time at the zoo than was planned.

This is also the girl whose mum is going off on one about the teachers 'incompetence'.

I think you are exercising some artistic license here. from my brief scan of this thread the OP does not describe her dd as anything more than "disappointed"!

It is funny isn't it, how the original post can turn from a self proclaimed "bit of a rant" into something far bigger when everyone else gets involved. Whilst the driver is clearly to blame, i find it hard to understand how those supposed to be in charge were not even aware what part of the country they were in.

laurel7172

0n one school trip I was on, I ended up giving directions to the coach driver. I was, very temporarily, the only member of staff not running up and down the coach with a sick bag. (City kids, country roads). I hadn't been to our destination before-nobody on our bus had- but the driver flatly refused to take responsibility for anything when his satnav ran out. Down to me, then.

But even so, the alleged huge difference between the M1 and M62 escapes me. I have driven on both, but they aren't local to me, and all motorways look the same when you aren't interested. I don't routinely memorise routes-I don't know anyone who does-because when normal, sane people pay professionals, they let them get on with it. I wouldn't engage a plumber or electrician and loom over him/her, and nor would I expect to have to read the map for a professional driver.

Teachers on residential trips are on call 24/7. They sit up half the night with kids who feel ill (always happens) and spend the other half chasing kids back to their rooms. They come back absolutely shattered. Happy, if the kids have had a good time, but shattered. On a coach, with the kids belted in and somebody else driving was possibly the only time all week that the staff could wind back the vigilance just a notch from maximum...I bet they're really fed up, too.

bestpud

steve40 wrote: »

I think you are exercising some artistic license here. from my brief scan of this thread the OP does not describe her dd as anything more than "disappointed"!

It is funny isn't it, how the original post can turn from a self proclaimed "bit of a rant" into something far bigger when everyone else gets involved. Whilst the driver is clearly to blame, i find it hard to understand how those supposed to be in charge were not even aware what part of the country they were in.

She said she felt it was helpful for her dd to have her mobile phone as she was able to reassure her and therefore help out the teachers.

I read that as meaning her dd was rather upset and the teachers would have had a hard time if she'd not spoken to her...

Plus, she is so disappointed, her mum feels the need to spend £50 on a trip to the zoo during the summer holidays to make her feel better about it.

That's hardly a rational response for a 12 year old, is it?

bestpud

laurel7172 wrote: »

0n one school trip I was on, I ended up giving directions to the coach driver. I was, very temporarily, the only member of staff not running up and down the coach with a sick bag. (City kids, country roads). I hadn't been to our destination before-nobody on our bus had- but the driver flatly refused to take responsibility for anything when his satnav ran out. Down to me, then.

But even so, the alleged huge difference between the M1 and M62 escapes me. I have driven on both, but they aren't local to me, and all motorways look the same when you aren't interested. I don't routinely memorise routes-I don't know anyone who does-because when normal, sane people pay professionals, they let them get on with it. I wouldn't engage a plumber or electrician and loom over him/her, and nor would I expect to have to read the map for a professional driver.

Teachers on residential trips are on call 24/7. They sit up half the night with kids who feel ill (always happens) and spend the other half chasing kids back to their rooms. They come back absolutely shattered. Happy, if the kids have had a good time, but shattered. On a coach, with the kids belted in and somebody else driving was possibly the only time all week that the staff could wind back the vigilance just a notch from maximum...I bet they're really fed up, too.

Quite.

The only thing I think they maybe could have noticed was the lack of other coaches! But then they may have been the first coach to leave and if the roads were busy they couldn't hope to stay in a convoy all the way.

steve40

Bestpud - i would argue more that to be disappointed is a rather "rational" response, as is a parent feeling sorry for their child and wanting to make it up to them.

WRT the £50 trip, I think that you might be missing the point of the thread a little as i think this is exactly the issue that is bothering the OP. Why should the OP have to pay out, when someone else has made a mistake, whether it is the teachers or the driver?

When i read this thread, i asked myself what would i feel in this situation and to be honest i would feel that all of the adults involved had shown a level of incompetance. I would ask all other posters how would you feel?

Furthermore i would be cross that my child had spent a wasted day out of school, for no benefit.

bestpud

steve40 wrote: »

Bestpud - i would argue more that to be disappointed is a rather "rational" response, as is a parent feeling sorry for their child and wanting to make it up to them.

WRT the £50 trip, I think that you might be missing the point of the thread a little as i think this is exactly the issue that is bothering the OP. Why should the OP have to pay out, when someone else has made a mistake, whether it is the teachers or the driver?

When i read this thread, i asked myself what would i feel in this situation and to be honest i would feel that all of the adults involved had shown a level of incompetance. I would ask all other posters how would you feel?

Furthermore i would be cross that my child had spent a wasted day out of school, for no benefit.

The OP should not have to spend money on a day out - she doesn't need to do anything - that's what I'm saying!!

Life does not always go to plan and her dd will need to cope with many disappointments in life!

I would not dream of doing that as I'd rather teach my children how to cope with lifes ups and downs - we can't shield them forever!

No wrong has been done to these children - they haven't been hurt or scarred for life - they have just been let down by the bus company and had a trip cut short.

That's it - nothing major!

Zazen999

steve40 wrote: »

Furthermore i would be cross that my child had spent a wasted day out of school, for no benefit.

But it wasn't wasted; they got there and still had 3 hours at the zoo.

Which could have happened in bad traffic anyway.

No harm done; something to rib the teachers about but that's all.

andrealm

laurel7172 wrote: »

0n one school trip I was on, I ended up giving directions to the coach driver. I was, very temporarily, the only member of staff not running up and down the coach with a sick bag. (City kids, country roads). I hadn't been to our destination before-nobody on our bus had- but the driver flatly refused to take responsibility for anything when his satnav ran out. Down to me, then.

But even so, the alleged huge difference between the M1 and M62 escapes me. I have driven on both, but they aren't local to me, and all motorways look the same when you aren't interested. I don't routinely memorise routes-I don't know anyone who does-because when normal, sane people pay professionals, they let them get on with it. I wouldn't engage a plumber or electrician and loom over him/her, and nor would I expect to have to read the map for a professional driver.

Teachers on residential trips are on call 24/7. They sit up half the night with kids who feel ill (always happens) and spend the other half chasing kids back to their rooms. They come back absolutely shattered. Happy, if the kids have had a good time, but shattered. On a coach, with the kids belted in and somebody else driving was possibly the only time all week that the staff could wind back the vigilance just a notch from maximum...I bet they're really fed up, too.

I don't think this was a residential trip, it was a series of days trips, if I'm reading it correctly. So the teachers sleep won't have been disturbed.

Parents are on call 24/7, 365 days a year, but it doesn't stop them paying attention to what's going on around them.

gratefulforhelp_2

patchwork_cat wrote: »

So if you spotted that a driver was going in the wrong direction you wouldn't intervene?
Yes, obviously.
IMO part of a modern teacher's job is taking trips, just as it is taking extra clubs etc. It is extendng the curriculum to give a fully rounded experience whish I am sure comes under the any other duties part of your contract. I must ask my sister if it is in her contract.
I'm sorry you don't believe me but what I have said is correct.

I am not going to convince you I am sure as your post reads like .. I am teacher I have a very hard job for very little pay and anything else I do is out of the goodness of my heart and I take no responsibility if anything goes wrong.

I don't think I mentioned pay, or that I found my job hard?

There are plenty of graduates that also do very hard jobs for insufficent remuneration, frequently because they have a calling.

Not sure this is relevant

It makes me wonder about the calibre of an individual who can sit on a coach, at the front, and not notice for 3 hours (when the journey should only have taken 2!) that she was going the wrong way. In fact there were 2 teachers, the children are very well behaved, and neither teacher noticed. I give up, these are graduates and at this school should be high calibre, to.

It seems you started this thread so that lots of people would agree with you, and they have. It is the nature of MSE, though, that people will disagree with each other.

milliebear00001 wrote: »

It's disappointing that a very unusual situation has been turned into a boring and depressing 'teacher bashing' thread by some posters.

Yes.

I also live in the locality you're talking about, and as a regular, and experienced driver, it would probably have become apparent fairly soon to me that we were on the wrong road. However, not everybody drives, not all teachers are local to their school and trip buses are a nightmare most of the time, requiring teachers to pay attention to what's going on on the bus, rather than the road - regardless of what you think you know about the behaviour of the children in the class.

The school should be seeking recompense from the coach company. It is likely they are already doing so, and I am surprised nobody seems to think this is the case.

I do, and I said so.
Parents and children should then be offered either a repeat visit, or a refund. Regardless of who you feel is to blame, these are really the only options. Either way, it's likely to cost the school money over and above that already spent from it's budget (and judging from the price you paid, that's likely to have already been a considerable amount from school coffers).

You're right, and increasingly schools are scaling back these activities, in part because of the cost.

Trips are not a part of a professional teachers required activities whether or not you believe them to be. It simply isn't part of our contract of employment (neither are after-school clubs which we also do by choice) we are well within our rights to refuse to go. Many do - particularly if they think they are going to encounter situations such as this.

Quite so.

As others have said there are the committed and the less committed in all professions. I was on an educational trip on Friday, in a fortnight I will go to a theme park. I have no interest in theme parks, it makes for a much longer day and I will have to make special childcare arrangements to do it. I will do it because I like the kids going and I recognise that for many of them, this will be the highlight of their summer. I'm not sure if I have a calling...I thought that was priests.

Takoda

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

It seems you started this thread so that lots of people would agree with you, and they have. It is the nature of MSE, though, that people will disagree with each other.



Quite so.

As others have said there are the committed and the less committed in all professions. I was on an educational trip on Friday, in a fortnight I will go to a theme park. I have no interest in theme parks, it makes for a much longer day and I will have to make special childcare arrangements to do it. I will do it because I like the kids going and I recognise that for many of them, this will be the highlight of their summer. I'm not sure if I have a calling...I thought that was priests.

You're lucky - I'm off for a five day residential tomorrow with 30 Y6!!!

I'm actually quite excited because I haven't been to that part of the country before and I'm not in overall charge so it should be a great week. I'll let you know on Friday whether we went in the right direction or not...:rotfl: