Should class trips have been canceled

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There were 22 responses to this weeks question: Do you agree with the decision to cancel student field trips?Absolutely 100 percent I disagree with those decisions of the pansy ways and yellow belly people who are overprotective. These children deserve to go on field trips, theyve seen children ahead of them year after year go to these places, in fact around this kind of an area like this a lot of kids do get to leave the valley when they do get to be adults, but a lot of people do get stuck here and rot and have children too early, and have no money to go anywhere ever. This Washington, D.C., thing, New York, going overseas to I think to Spain, its their only chance. And after something like this, they are depriving these kids some kind of a mind-expanding thing where they can have their horizons broadened, because of what? Because of some idiot, moron we have for a president who started this thing and were all worrying and cowering. We all have to live our lives, you should not cower under rocks, duct tape yourselves into sealed rooms until you suffocate. Live your lives, let these children experience that very life.I do not believe that canceling field trips is any good, because were allowing those creeps to dictate our lives of how we should run it. Dick Barry of North Conway.Brendan from North Conway. I do not agree with the decision to cancel field trips. I think right now with our country at orange status, people do not realize that of course our liberal media does not want us to realize that it is the safest time, because we are being protected so strongly. All we want to do is fear the Nazi-like Iraqis and terrorist and to be very honest with you, the liberals in this country are just as much Nazi-like as these terrorist, with their opinions, their falsifications and their lying. We need to be supporting our troops, our president and we need to be supporting our livelihood, thats the only way we are going to survive. Just like us in this town, the only way were going to survive in this town is if we get the tourism and if we start taking it away and not giving it to other places, its not going to come here, and thats when our economy is going to go bad, not because of whats going in Iraq with the war, because were doing what we need to do. Unlike of course, like I said, all of our Nazi-liberals around here who wont agree with that. You probably wont print this because it is not politically correct. Political correctness needs to go and we need to go with the truthfulness with whats going on. I think we should keep these trips going on, and let these kids realize that this war is right, and that we need to keep going on with our lives. They should cancel the war instead. Dave from North Conway.I definitely do not agree with the towns decision to cancel all the field trips. As a student from Kennett High School, I am very upset. I have friends who have raised so much money in the past year to go on these field trips. Members of the DECA Club made it to the nationals and now can not go. I am a member of the early-childhood program, I have been working with a friend for two and a half months to plan a field trip for our preschoolers, and now four days before the trip, we find out we are not allowed to go. Its ridiculous. Our president told us to go on with our lives as planned and we are the only distinct who has canceled all of our field trips and its completely outrageous. I feel that the superintendent should reevaluate his decision. Concerned student from Kennett High School.I do believe they should cancel the field trips, all of them. From Conway.I think you made a very wise decision, and I think the same decision should be made for any future field trips. I am calling from Conway.I do not think that there should ever be any school field trips, none ever. Also, no ski-skate days, enough is enough. Children need all the learning time possible, then maybe their test scores would be higher. Reading, writing, computing and thinking are what is needed. Time on tasks in science, English, history, languages, math, etc., is the schools job. Enrichment in fun should be done by the family and community after school and on weekends. Also, school assemblies and visiting speakers should happen after school and the children could take the late bus home. Id like to see school about schooling.Mike from Tamworth. This has got to be the stupidest question that Tele-Talk has ever asked. Of course, I think everyone should agree with the decision, the students, the faculty, their lives are in jeopardy, we are at war. Come on, cant you guys come up with a better question than this?Anita from North Conway. My granddaughter was scheduled to go on a Mount Washington trip and I was very happy that it was canceled. I was very nervous about them not canceling it.I think the school should work on teaching. Let the field trips be handled by the parents. Television transcends geographical boundaries. Ive never been to the moon, but Ive got a good idea what its like. Also putting a few hundred dollars burden on poor families is flat out disgusting. I grew up poor and shy, so every time a field trip came around or it was little league time again, and we had to sell raffle tickets or something, it was another feeling of pain that my family could do without. Lets see... pay for the heat, the food, the shoes, or maybe that trip, and of course those with large families with money, never had to worry about anything. The food would be well-stocked, the shoes brand new, and when they graduated, their father or grandfather would take them down to the union hall and give them a good job like everything else was given to them. No, I do not agree with school field trips period. Unless a work program could be set up after school for all kids, to work off the trip without burdening their families. They could also learn the cost of these thing, while learning a skill also.I have a comment on this weeks Tele-Talk question. I would like to see the school administration not cancel, but redirect the field trips to Main Street in Conway Village, and have the students clean up the disgusting mess that they have created. I hope that this is not an indication of what the grounds of the proposed $46 million complex is going to look like?I sure do. I do not think that any chances for their safety should be taken. I wonder what the teachers union thinks and will act on as all these students that dont leave, will be in classes that teachers have to plan on and not sit on their butts, collect pay for not doing nothing. I do not agree with the decision. A blanket policy like that is just what the terrorists want in contrary to what the president asks us to do. They need to examine these on a case-by-case basis. It may make sense to cancel a field trip to Washington D.C., but it would be silly to cancel a trip to the coast of Maine. Also, shouldnt this be the parents decision, why should a school board interfere with a parents decisions?Indeed, we need to watch our backs.My name is Deanna Valley, I am registering my answer for your question in the paper, I do agree with the principals decision not to allow their students to go on a field trip. I agree with that. My daughter goes to Kennett and I live in Freedom.The school administrations decision to cancel all field trips was the correct one. I have a child in the eighth grade at Kennett, and my husband and I had already decided that he would not be going to Washington in April. We are all very disappointed that he will not be experiencing this fun and exciting experience, however, his safety and the safety of the other students, teachers and chaperones is the only issue worth considering at this time. I feel proud that our school administration was willing to perhaps be unpopular with some but appreciated and respected by many others. Center Conway.No. When we change our plans or way of life based on unfounded fears and unspecified threats, we are assisting global terrorists in achieving their subversive goals of intimidation and disruption. God Bless the United States, our Military Forces, and President Bush. Glen.We do not agree. We think it should be left up to the students and their parents to decide. Were sure the students have worked long and hard to get where they are. Give them a chance to get out and see the world. Some of them I bet, will be the only time they get out of this state. Let them go. We cant worry every day of our lives. Thats why the troops are where they so we can live free. Ruth and Travis from Glen.I disagree with the schools decision to cancel any planned trips! If a terrorist wanted to harm our children he or she could walk in the door of our schools. The doors are unlocked. My daughter from KHS returned from a New York trip on March 15 and security was code yellow now it is code orange. David A. Holt Sr. The decision that was made by the school administration to cancel all out-of-town field trips is a decision I strongly disagree with. I understand that the administration needs to look out for the safety of students and staff members above all other things, but as a citizen of the United States I feel as though we are giving up our freedoms and liberties to terrorist groups across the world by stopping our lives because of fear. When the World Trade Center buildings were attacked on September 11, 2001, our terror warnings were raised in fear of another attack. Since then, we have heightened our awareness to the fact that we are vulnerable to these sorts of attacks at any time. President Bush and our government have created a Homeland Security Department, and we continue to act aggressively on credible reports for attacks on our country. Furthermore, airport securityand the security of other means of entrance into this country has been heightened and airspace has been closed around high risk areas. Weare taking the necessary steps as a country to make our citizens safe. I am a member of the Kennett High School DECA club. Nine members of our chapter earned first place awards over participants from schools around the state and an opportunity to attend the National DECA Conference in Orlando, Florida. These students deserve the right to have the opportunity to compete against students from across the country and international community. Instead, these nine students have forfeited their positions to students that they exceeded at the state competition. The Key Club, which has received numerous awards for their continued involvement in community service and for chapter participation in years past, willmiss their New England Conference which will be held in Springfield, Mass. Other trips that will be canceled are trips to Philadelphia, Spain, Washington, D.C., and two trips to New York. A major problem I have with this decision is where the parents of these students play a part. I know that there are numerous parents concerned with their childs trip and do notwant him/her to attend, but there are just as many parents who feel that their students ought to have these opportunities. If a parent chooses not to send their student, that is fine, but parents that want these trips to occur, should not have that decision taken away from them. Being part of the education system should not only be about learning information within the confines of our school district, but outside as well. The school can not recreate the real-life experiences that students have hadin the past or could have in the future. Real-life experiences are ones that students will need to succeed in life, and the school should not take these opportunities away from the students. AnthonyVerrochi, student body vice president, Conway School Board student representative. On Friday I picked up your newspaper and your headline read School field trips canceled. The article explained the local school administrations reasoning for the cancellations of their trips at home and abroad in a memo from Carl Nelson, superintendent of SAU 9; due to the current war situation, please cancel any field trips and student activities outside Mount Washington Valley for the immediate future. When I picked up Saturdays paper you were asking via Tele-Talk if people agreed with this decision. I was prompted to respond to your question but thought better of it since some people think Im off base at times. When I got home later that day I noticed a letter from my sons school regarding their planned field trips. The letter read in part, After much discussion, consultation and thought, the academy has decided that decisions about participation in these trips should be made by individual families, not by the academy. This letter was from Dan Lee, headmaster at Fryeburg Academy. After reading this letter, I knew that I was not alone in my thoughts, and that I did indeed need to respond to your question. It all comes down to freedom of choice. I know that things can still change, but for now Mr. Lee has given us this freedom, this choice. I agree with his decision and I applaud his courage. I know that Mr. Nelson is concerned about the safety of his students and his staff, no more and no less than is Mr. Lee. Ron Ryall,Brownfiled