Would you do it today? I suspect you probably wouldn’t.
Around 25 years ago I left a small, sleepy village in mid-Norfolk, UK, just after midnight, with 45 young teenagers and two other colleagues, and headed for Gatwick airport. We tried to sleep on the journey, and failed miserably. At some point in the morning we arrived at the airport, eventually boarded an aeroplane, flew over the Alps, and landed in Venice. We had a day to explore the city before boarding an educational cruise ship for a fortnight exploring the Mediterranean.
The deal was that during the day and while at sea, the three teachers taught the children in preparation for the visits to several different countries. During the evening we supervised the ‘activities’. After nine o’clock, we retreated to the bar and the ship’s company took over for the night.
I remember two things about stepping out of the plane and onto the tarmac at Venice: the heat; I was very, very tired. It was going to be a long, hot day.
We did everything by the book. As we snaked through the city we had one teacher at the front, one at the back, and one in the middle. We periodically stopped to count up and check the numbers. We reached one of the bridges and said: “Ok. We are going to stop here so that you can buy your postcards and souvenirs. Find at least one partner to stay with you. Don’t stray too far. Be back here in one hour. And don’t be late.” And before we (the exhausted staff) sat down for a much needed coffee, we did one final count. 41, 42, 43, 44. 44? 41, 42, 43, 44. 44? 41, 42, 43, 44. 44. 44. 44!!!! We were one missing!
Who was it? Natasha. Natasha was a very sensible 13 year old. She wouldn’t have done anything stupid. Yet she was missing. And Natasha was the well-loved daughter of the Chair of Governors at the school where we had come from. If we couldn’t find her the cruise ship with around 600 other children would not wait. Natasha’s safety, my job, and the cruise for 44 other children that we had been preparing for for months was in the balance. We just had to find her.
We didn’t get the coffee but spent a stressful two hours tramping the streets trying to find her. We couldn’t. So, with increasing alarm we made our way to the port and the ship, dreading what was about to ensue. Fortunately, Natasha was a sensible girl. When she realised she had become separated from us in the backstreets of Venice (she found some of the sweets on sale too irresistible, and nobody seemed to notice her disappear into a shop, but it took a long while to buy them), she decided that the best course of action was to make her way back to the ship. And there she was, standing, waiting, safe, smiling, and penitent. I wanted to give her a fatherly hug for just being safe and alive, but, of course, being her teacher, I didn’t. Imagine the scandal!
Apart from the stressful beginning, we had a wonderful time. For several years I would say that my relationship with many of these students was enhanced and the teaching more enjoyable because of the time we spent together during that fortnight. And at a time when overseas travel was less common, teenagers from darkest Norfolk saw sites from several countries. Apart from the geography, history, and maths lessons (the different currencies were a nightmare), there was also much incidental learning.
As I remember it there were several priceless moments. The boys, who had laughed at the way the girls attracted the attention of the local lads in Seville suddenly found themselves on the receiving end while walking in Izmir. Several local males found them very interesting. It was a culture shock. As was learning not to offer the pork pie from your packed lunch to the local Muslim tour guide in Jerusalem. And although walking through the ruins of Ephesus was more amazing than we had dared anticipate, the unexpected large lizards bathing in the sun were a very welcome additional treat.
Two days before we arrived back at Athens for the flight home, there was a knock on the cabin door at around five o’clock in the afternoon. We had just finished for the day and were resting before the evening meal. It was a ship’s officer, looking very serious.
“Is John B…. one of yours?”
“Yes. Why? What’s he done?”
“We found him standing on the side rails looking in the water. Says he wants to kill himself. Says he doesn’t want to go home. You had better keep a close watch on him because if he does go overboard, the propellers …”
And for the next two days we watched him like a hawk. Various pupils were told to stay with him at all times. The ship’s company were alerted, and the teachers were extra vigilant. We delivered him back safely (but sad) to his family, and hoped Natasha’s parents would concede that we had done it by the book in Venice.
Would I do it again, in today’s litigation culture? Certainly not.
There were reports in the UK press this week lamenting the decline in the teaching of geography. One of the reasons given was the disappearance of geography field trips from the curriculum. They are becoming less common because:
- They are expensive and there are issues about asking poorer families for money (or excluding those children from the trips).
- With pressure from examination league tables some headteachers are reluctant to allow the disruption to the school that the trips inevitably involve.
- In some areas of the country they are virtually impossible because of cultural traditions. Muslim parents, for example, are reluctant to allow their daughters to go to a situation where they might mix with boys.
- Teachers, headteachers, and local authorities know that if something were to go wrong (if you did lose one in Venice or overboard) you would get sued. (And let’s face it, there is a high chance of something going wrong with some students.)
Unlike doctors and lawyers, all the teachers I used to work with could not afford to pay high insurance premiums to protect themselves in the event of something going wrong. Clear negligence and unprofessionalism deserves to face stiff penalties, but until good teachers receive more protection, I can understand them veering on the side of caution. Giving up your free time to spend with a load of teenagers is not necessarily fun. Forgoing all overtime payments and then having to give up your free time both to organise the whole outing and be responsible for all the students is certainly not all fun, especially when some of them are very irresponsible.
Would you do it today? I suspect you probably wouldn’t. I definitely wouldn’t!
Interesting topic. In the USA, chaperon-pupil ratios vary by state, but are generally about 1:10 or 1:8. So, a group the size of yours would have had at least 5 chaperons, probably 6, plus a teacher or two. I’ve chaperoned college students on tours lasting anywhere from 3-30 days, and high school students on trips lasting 1-7 days. Of course, our current school district, school and band program have boatloads of forms and waivers that parents have to submit before their children can go on any trips. All efforts are made to indemnify teachers and chaperons. Trips like these are enjoyable, as well as stressful for the chaperons.
I had to smile at this line: After nine o’clock, we retreated to the bar and the ship’s company took over for the night. Not a chance of anything like that happening on our school trips. Chaperons in our school district are not allowed to smoke or consume alcohol on school trips. The reason of course, is to take away a potential source of complaint or liability for a lawsuit in the event of a misfortune.
the chaplain: Because the ship’s company were merchant navy and therefore ‘military types’ they were seriously ‘respected’ by the students and therefore much more effective in enforcing bedtime discipline than we would ever have been able to. I also seem to remember that there was a lot of duty free alcohol available for staff, and that trying to play table tennis after midnight on a rolling ship and three hours in the bar was one of the silliest things I can ever remember doing in my life!
Great story.
Gosh, all those lovely places you have been to.
You were all terribly hardworking and brave. Were teenagers better behaved then?
Would I do it now? no-way: two years helping out at my local rainbow guide group was enough for me.
Unfortuanetly, us parents now make it too hard a job. People will complain about anything.
I would not touch it with a barge pole.
As for you doing the bar, table tenis and a rolling ship.Well, you learn something new every day.
I commend you and your colleaques for what you did. I expect the students had a trip of a lifetime.