
By Maria Guzzo
Contributing Writer
INDIANA – On a recent field trip to the state Capitol in Harrisburg, St. Bernard Regional Catholic School students found educational opportunities everywhere they looked – from high in the gallery observing senators at work in the chamber to beneath their feet, where floor tiles create a quilt of state symbols.
Following the October bus trip, fourth- through eighth-grade students brought what they learned back to the classroom and continued discussing state history, political policy and occupations, transforming a “fun” trip into a lasting educational experience, according to Principal Tina Bucci.
“Their interest was piqued in learning all the different opportunities for employment at the Capitol,” Bucci said.
Students learned that while the Capitol contained elected positions representing local constituents, hundreds of “regular” jobs existed, too, like librarians, tour guides, security guards, clerks and maintenance workers, one of whom had the responsibility of winding the clocks.
The school funded the four-hour coach bus ride, but otherwise the Harrisburg trip was free. Sen. Joe Pittman, Pennsylvania’s Senate majority leader from Indiana County, whose children attend St. Bernard Regional Catholic School, sponsored the students, showing them his office and the Senate chamber, where they observed political proceedings from the gallery.
While touring the Capitol, students filled in a worksheet when they found specific floor tiles. The Capitol’s floor contains nearly 400 images of Pennsylvania-native animals like turkey and elk, and historical and commerce symbols like the telephone and the Gettysburg battle.
Bucci said younger students benefit from field trips, too. Students in preschool through third grade annually meet first responders on campus to learn about their jobs and sit in their emergency vehicles. Kindergarteners visited a pumpkin patch and saw dairy cows, learning that their lunchroom milk is not produced in a supermarket, Bucci said. Students used math to weigh their pumpkins and estimate the number of seeds they held, she said.
Teacher Molli Duchon, who teaches social studies and health for fourth- through eighth-graders, said field trips make education tangible.
“It puts a real-life spin on it all,” Duchon said. “Instead of just learning how to add, subtract and do problem after problem, these trips put skills to use.”
For example, a representative from Yellow Creek State Park, Indiana County, visits campus to assist students in observing birds and their habitat around the school.
“Then we’ll go to Yellow Creek and compare the two habitats,” Duchon said. “It’s not just listening to someone talk and going back to school. It’s getting our hands dirty. Getting students out and moving around, instead of lecturing, helps them retain more information.”
Measuring migratory patterns, mapping and calculating distance uses math proficiencies that translate to future life skills,” she said.
“Students complain they’ll never use this math again, but it can be combined with real life, like the distance I need to travel on vacation,” Duchon said. “It can parallel real-life concepts.”
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