Our fourth graders are going on a field trip to Raleigh next Thursday. The visitor center called yesterday and said that only the teachers, students, and parents on the chartered bus would be able to visit the museums. We were also told that parking is limited (almost extinct) in the the areas near the museums and legislative buildings. This situation has created a great controversy among both parents and teachers. Several parents wanted to follow the bus, and are now upset over the situation with the parking and museums. It seems that the bigger issue is the fact that many of these same parents don't trust my colleagues and me to take their children on a trip three hours away. Many are not going to let their child go now. The children are so disappointed because they have been looking forward to this trip since last August. Has anyone gone through this situation before??? Is the parking in Raleigh really this bad? Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Tami,
I really don't see how a public building could keep people (or parents) out. If they are willing to drive down, pay for admission, then they must be allowed to enter the building. If they just happen to end up with their child then that would be all the better. I think this is an issue of rights rather than parking. I'd demand that my parents be allowed to go whether they drive or ride.

Tami, At the risk of sounding "difficult" and "whiney"---I must say that I don't enjoy field trips. Field Trips are an awesome responsibility for teachers. We carry the load of watching all the students--hoping that we don't lose one or that they don't choose some moment on the trip to do the dumbest thing of their short life. Parents can be a big help or a big pain in the neck---and unfortunately my experience has been that they tend to be the latter. In this world of kidnappings and lawsuits, I think it's pretty brave for your fourth grade to even be making this trip. I hope it all works out for you and that everyone---especially the adults, do their part to make it successful. I'll be thinking of you.

Tami,
I know exactly how you feel about field trips. We take our fourth graders every year for a three day 2 night trip to the coast and to Raleigh. Many parents do not want thier child to go because they do not trust us and they are not allowed to go on the trip with us. My school does not allow parents to accompany teachers and students on this trip because our prinicpal does not feel safe taking parents on the trip.

This trip is so good for our students, but I have to admit I hate getting ready for this trip and I hate going myself. It is so stressful and tiring.

To answer your question, the parking has never been a problem for us. The buses can unload children where they need to and then go on and park the buses. The last two years they even have a bus parking lot that we park in and it is close to the Gov. Manison, so we walked to where we needed to go.

Hope this helps.