A while ago, I went with my bosses and a coworker to Insect Kingdom, a purported bug museum. We were there to research and prepare for a field trip where we would be taking some students to the museum to complete tasks as part of an English language experience. It was a pleasant afternoon, however I was unconvinced about the suitability of the Insect Kingdom as a site for an English language field trip. For starters, the English translations on the signs were cringe-worthy. Entering one area, a sign informed me "Here you will learn about births, then perish." I also observed very few actual insects at the Insect Kingdom. To make up for the lack of insects, there were spiders, a number of reptiles, and a petting zoo. The petting zoo was awful, primarily due to the two goats in residence. The goats were kept in an extremely small pen, and they were vocal about their dislike of it. They screamed and butted their heads against the wall and the very low fence keeping them caged in. I made the mistake of getting close enough where one goat had the opportunity to start eating my jacket.
Truly, I found the goats terrifying. Not so much because of my own safety, but rather at the thought of 50 children running amuck and sticking their hands near the goats. And as if that danger wasn't enough, the Insect Kingdom also has a large pond of water indoors. There are stepping stones throughout the pond that you can walk on in order to try to catch fish. There is no fence around this area or any way to prevent children from charging it at once. I was a child once. More importantly, I'm a teacher. I know how children think, and these two areas were the two places I was convinced the children would spend their time. I expressed my concern about these two locations where possible drowning and/or dismemberment could occur, but the field trip was planned and one paranoid American wasn't enough to stop it. Mine was not to question why, mine was but to do or die. Literally, according to that sign.
In every subsequent meeting about the trip I reiterated my concerns. My meeting contributions were along the lines of:
- "But what about the goats?"
- "I'm worried about the goats."
- "Someone needs to stand by the pond or a child will fall in."
- "I think the goats might eat a child."
- "I want a TA to stand by the goats and one to stand by the water."
- "Last night I had a dream about the goats..."
I contributed nothing else to this trip besides constant nagging about safety issues (read: the goats and the water). I was a broken record but the terror was real. All my teacher training has drilled the importance of safety into me. My first thoughts in any class are something like "Where are my children? Are they all here? Are they all alive? Are they holding any sharp objects? (takes away sharp objects) Ok, let's begin class."
Ultimately, the day went well. The kids had fun and everyone survived. The goats that had caused me weeks of anxiety ended up being a non-issue because the old angry goats had been replaced by new, hornless baby goats who weren't yet filled with rage. I have no desire to know what happened to the old goats. The only problem during the day was that a child did fall into the water and had to ride home on the bus wearing a borrowed sweater.
You win some, you lose some.