Keeping The Family Close To Home

To the Editor:

On September 28, William Sampson wrote a letter stating, “I am appalled by the premature, knee-jerk reaction Newtown Middle School has taken … to cancel the eighth grade spring field trip to Gettysburg and Washington, D.C. … that’s education that is well worth whatever risk my eighth-grade daughter may face to obtain it.”

It is unbelievable to me that Mr Sampson is willing to sacrifice the safety of his child so that she may see Washington, D.C., and Gettysburg.

I have an eighth grade daughter who had two trips planned – the end-of-year trip described above as well as a Discovery Florida trip in January. Both are canceled. During a discussion with the parents of 31 Discovery students, there was absolutely no agreement. (In a letter to the editor of The Newtown Bee on September 28, concerning the Disney trip, Mary Taylor states, “… 2) the fear that any locale visited might be the scene of an attack, especially since those locales closed briefly after the attack. . . almost everything closed after the attack, including Western Connecticut State University and People’s Bank.” Give me a break! I don’t believe for a minute these two establishments would be high on a terrorist hit list. But Disney World, an American icon – you bet!) I simply cannot imagine anything constructive coming out of a discussion involving 400 parents concerning the end-of-year trip. There are too many uncertainties, and emotions are too strong on both sides of the spectrum. A majority of the teachers who would be responsible for these students made a collective decision to not take the trip. I don’t blame them for not wanting such a huge responsibility. Therefore, a parent discussion would be completely pointless. Also, there are deadlines with nonrefundable deposits that must be met now. Many families do not have the luxury of risking hundreds of dollars (and for some, much more).

I explained to my daughter that she has every right to feel angry, frustrated, disappointed, etc. I also explained to her that in a couple of years from now, missing these particular eighth grade field trips will seem insignificant in the scheme of life. (These students are not completely missing out. There are other trips in the works.) These destinations are not going anywhere. They can be visited by schools when we are not a nation at war, which we are right now, and many seem to be in such a rush to forget so we can get back to normal. If some parents feel so strongly that their student needs this education out of the classroom, you can certainly take them yourself.

I think we need to support Dr Reed, the principal, and the teachers involved in the decision making process. Heaven forbid something tragic happened while your student was on one of these field trips. In the meantime, I’m doing my best to get back to normal. But I plan on keeping my family closer to home.

Sincerely,_Janis R. Solheim

11 Harvest Common Road, Sandy Hook October 5, 2001