PROMPT: In order to better engage students' interests, some school districts have begun allowing students to suggest and vote on their class field trips.

Weigh the positives and negatives of this approach. Then write an essay in which you argue whether or not such a policy should be used at your school. Provide at least two reasons to support your answer.

Students should have the ability to choose where they go on their field trips. This would not only engage students interests, but as a student myself, I believe it would also give them a sense that they do get to have some control over certain things and teachers really do care about their thoughts and ideas. Finally, I think they should get to vote and or suggest class field trips because students could come up with ideas school faculty didn't think of. There are numerous benefits if the school districts would allow students to have a say in where they go on their field trips.

I think students should be able to choose where they go on their field trips because they don't get to make any decisions that actually affect their lives. In our world people under the age of 18 don't really get a say. For example voting. Now I'm not saying that 8 year olds should be able to make the decision of who they want to be the president, but I do think they should get a say in the little things that they can. It is vital that developing people get the chance to make decisions. As a student myself, sometimes I feel like we don't have much control in our own lives. So if we could just get that one choice, that would change our point of view. That would make us feel like someone wanted our opinion, our thoughts. It might be a subconscious feeling, but it'd be there. Everyone has felt powerless one point in their life or the other, especially kids and teenagers, and it doesn't feel great. This could completely change a kids perspective on school.

I also think that students should be able to suggest ideas for field trips because they could have great ideas that adults didn't even think of! The purpose of the field trips is to educate kids in a fun and recreational way. Students know what they would enjoy more than adults. For school faculty, it's really just a guessing game, trying to pick a good field trip option for their students. Also kids are creative in ways you can't even imagine, and they can come up with incredible things that can be fun for not only themselves, and all of their classmates, but even for their teachers! This would benefit the students in them having fun which would also result in them learning more on the education aspect of it all.

Overall, I think it would be the most advantageous to not only their education, but their opinion on school. This idea would do exactly what its meant to and more: engage students, come up with great ideas, and change a student's perspective on school. Our school should begin doing this because of the multiple great benefits.