Schools rethink field trips abroad
Citing the “uncertain world climate,” some Canadian school districts have decided to change the destinations of student trips abroad this year — or have cancelled them entirely.
School officials say student safety is their No. 1 priority, but some parents are accusing officials of over-reacting and sending the wrong message to students: that “we should hide and not live our lives” in the face of terrorism.
This week, Catholic school districts in Edmonton and Calgary announced that all international travel was being called off for the remainder of the school year. Affected students include those who were headed to France, England, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the U.S. for sports tournaments, youth religious conferences, cheerleading competitions, music and arts festivals and science events.
Public school districts in both cities are expected to announce soon whether they will follow suit.
Meanwhile, three Peel district schools in Ontario that had planned trips to Paris, as part of French immersion programs or international exchanges, have now changed their itineraries.
Students from two schools will now be travelling only in the southern part of France, while students from a third school will be going to Amsterdam, said district spokeswoman Carla Pereira.
“Based on the Government of Canada’s travel advisory, which asks travellers to exercise a high-degree of caution due to the current elevated threat of terrorism, a decision was made to avoid Paris,” Pereira said.
Other school districts in the country are taking a waitand-see approach.Josh Watt, executive director of the Manitoba School Boards Association, said while an outright ban on travel is not in the cards, schools are being asked “to consider the risk versus reward of trips overseas.”
In explaining its decision to cancel all foreign travel, the Edmonton Catholic School District referenced the series of co-ordinated attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 that left 130 people dead and last week’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., that killed 14.
A bulletin from the Calgary Catholic School District mentioned “recent global events” for its decision to cancel out-of-country travel.
Some parents went to the school districts’ Facebook pages and called their decisions short-sighted.
“Absolutely terrible decision to cancel Mother Margaret Mary girls’ senior basketball trip to Hawaii. … This decision should immediately be reversed as it shows children we should hide and not live our lives. Basically, let them win,” wrote Lindsay Fenwick.