In case of doubt, go for the most cautious way I'll check on this one of these days, as there are also some unanswered questions in my head regarding the legal effect of the waivers.

Thanks for the compliment.

Hello,

What would you suggest in this scenario:

My two kids will have a field trip, I am not comfortable of them joining because of safety issues. A letter was given to parents stating that the said field trip is required. The teachers also told the students that they should join the field trip because a project regarding the trip and additional points on all subjects will be given.

At first, I thought of paying the fee para wala na silang masabi, however, they said that since my youngest is still in pre elem, I should be paying times 2! and this is too much.

Best regards.

Parents would always have the option of saying no to any activity set by the school. Of course, your child would have to take the consequences, but the better schools would provide alternative activities.

Thank you Sir.

One more thing po. Is a private school has an option of following or not DECS memo? Like this field trips?

The power of the government over private schools is one of supervision, not control. So DepEd issuances generally have only a persuasive effect on schools, except those necessary to implement minimum standards. Generally, DepEd memos regarding field trips should only be persuasive on private schools - I am wondering how that would be necessary to implement minimum standards.

we have the same problem, my 2 nieces are studying in a private school in cavite. one is on grade 3 and the other one is still in pre school. their school is requiring them to join the field trip. i am not in favor of having them join in the field trip because of the ff. reasons:
- the itinerary which is Subic is too far from Cavite.
- the itinerary includes Ocean Adventure, Zoobic Safari, swimming in adventure beach, Duty Free
- P1500 each is quite expensive for the trip

here are my points, why would the school choose a location too far from cavite if the objective is to just expose the kids to animals. there are other zoos nearer like manila zoo, manila ocean park, avilon zoo and another zoo in tagatay.
i am not comfortable allowing only the 2 kids joining the trip because of the swimming and Duty Free shopping. i don't know if the school intentionally included them we'll be force to have someone chaperone the kids. that means at the minimum we will shell out P4500 for the trip.
what's the objective of going to Duty Free shop in the first place? shopping, exposing them to imported items?
i talked to the principal and he reiterated that regardless if the kids will join the trip or not we are required to pay the P1500 (total of P3000).

now i am more eager to file a formal complaint to DepEd for the following reasons:
- inclusion of a mall in the itinerary.
- being required to pay the P1500 fee even if not joining the trip.
- plans of giving the students exam related to the field trip and no alternative for those not joining the trip.

another option i am thinking is to join the trip but we will bring our own car, meaning we won't pay the 4500 but instead drive by our own, pay our own entrance. and we won't need to join them in the swimming and duty free shopping.

thoughts?

@sevenblues: If negotiations with the school fails, it would be good to go to DepEd. Also, please inform us afterwards as to the action of DepEd.

My 4 year old son's school is also imposing a field trip to Pampanga. They depart at 6:30am and are expected to return to Manila by 8pm. I wonder what sort of information my son will absorb after a very long distance of travel. Does it really have to be so far away and must it really take the entire day? 4 year olds are very hyper but they tire easily as well.

The school did not consult the parents about the places to visit, nor did they do a headcount first to check who is willing to send their kids on the trip. There is simply no option not to join and even if my son doesn't go, we still have to pay for his bus fare and ticket amounting to P850.00! Ridiculous!

The school promises that the trip will be an eye opener for the kids. Please! At kinder1, EVERYTHING is an eye opener for them! Listening to a tour guide about local history and where the Ifugaos live in Nayong Pilipino is not going to mean a thing to them at this point. 4 year olds are still newcomers in this world and already they're already history is being stuffed down their throats!

Once, my wife and I took our son to Tagaytay, hoping that he'd be amazed at the beauty of Taal lake. He just glanced for a few seconds and shrugged and said: "I want to go home". A long drive will bore them out of their minds. They will not have the capacity to pay attention to long tours on history of people and places they don't care about!

And what will they learn from the Duty Free? Math? Haggling? How to avoid taxes?

I can't help but have this impression that this field trip is really for the faculty who want to take advantage of the pockets of parents to go on outings. Really! There are many other places for the kids to learn about animals at a much closer proximity for the school.

Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Ridiculous!

@roastertruck: I sympathize with your predicaments. Is this a private school?

thank you so much for sharing this to me. I will be meeting with the school principal to discuss this and will let you know the result. Thanks again.

Grace