Going to the library…

May 19, 2016

Today’s field trip story is from a teacher, formerly at San Miguel Elementary school. This story shows just how hard it can be to get a class to take even a short, “free” field trip.

For my past six years I have planned a “free” field trip to the Sunnyvale Public Library, where typically 2 or 3 of my 24 students have ever visited before, though almost all were born here in the Silicon Valley. Almost all of the parents have immigrated, many only finished between 2nd-6th grade themselves in Mexico, and heartbreakingly many many of my students at the beginning of every year in my class do not have one single book in their homes. Honestly. It’s the truth. The parents verify regularly and I have done home visits to see it with my own eyes. Though after nine years of this shock, the shock still hits me every time and I can barely believe this is true just 10 miles from where I grew up and got an amazing education.  

Anyway, back to the library field trip. Most importantly, we have no cap on chaperones and encourage families – parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and younger siblings! – to join us so that the parents also see where the library is and all it has to offer and will hopefully return.  (Not being able to bring younger siblings is a big inhibitor for many parents who want to chaperone.) The second graders each get their very own library card and get to check out books which I return three weeks later, unless a parent takes them back. The thing is, while the visit once we get there is free, getting there and back to school costs a couple hundred dollars per bus. 

As our Parent Association (PA) funding has dropped even more over the last few years, last year instead of spending almost half our grade level’s PA money for the year on this one bus to travel within Sunnyvale for a FREE field trip, we decided to try taking the city bus. That took so long and was so involved with staggered rounds (we didn’t all fit on one so had to go in increments, spreading out the time even more!), and involved about a mile of walking each way, that the kids AND parents were so tired and distracted from the intended goal of the outing, that all they wanted to do was sit, eat, and rest at the library. They weren’t as excited about the tour or to walk around and see all the library has to offer. 

The whole public-bus complications were so hard on the kids, parents, and teachers too, that the grade level is not going to the library at all this year. Sixty second graders who won’t get a library card and all those families (typically more than half of the students had family members who could join!!) who won’t get to see the library and might never go on their own! 

And this library is right here in Sunnyvale. Once San Miguel families in past years had been there through our field trip many would go back regularly. Parent education is huge for this population, as mentioned, since most of the parents have no experience from their own growing up to even have the concept of a public city library or taking their kids to check out a bunch of new books every couple weeks FOR FREE! Yet so many of our San Miguel parents have told me time and time again that the number one reason they made the incredibly difficult decision to leave their own home and families and to immigrate was because they wanted better for their kids and specifically better education. Many would take their kids to the library if they had the example of what to do there and the eye opening experience that a field trip can provide.

Field trips provide a lot of great things for the kids and their families. We hope to be able to support more of them in the future – and with your donations we could!