As a brief foray into Twitter will tell you, 2020 has launched a very strange rumor mill. Among the many questions at the top of the public’s collective mind is: Where has Professor Barnacle been?
You know Professor Barnacle: the cantankerous publisher of Barnacle & Barnacle Publishers and practitioner of eccentric hobbies, who frequently threatened to fire 826LA staff members and volunteers on Storytelling & Bookmaking field trips. Typically, just as Professor Barnacle was admonishing their employees for writing boring books, a visiting class of elementary school students would save the day by creating an exciting original story that was sure to be a best-seller.
But the 826LA Field Trip program has been on hiatus since March. What has the professor been up to?
“They took a time-traveling vacation to 1982 or 2891. One or the other,” speculated Cathy Mayer, 826LA’s Field Trips Program Coordinator.
Senior Field Trips Program Coordinator Mike Dunbar said, “Last I heard, Professor Barnacle was trying to invent a cross between an electric blanket and a pair of jeans. I was told the Professor was shocked by the result.”
We have not been able to verify either statement, but we have confirmed one piece of good news for students at Title I schools across LA: Field Trips are back, this time in virtual form.
Wiggly, the hero of a virtual field trip
“Teachers have overwhelmingly expressed a desire for our virtual field trips. A survey we sent out to our teacher community came back with 100% of respondents saying they would be interested in participating in the program,” Mike said.
Toward the end of the 2019-2020 school year, when regular field trips were put on hold, staff created a weekly newsletter that included writing prompts, which we’ve gathered into a writing prompt database. Now, with our field trips going online, students and teachers will be able to experience that kind of writing support firsthand (or virtually firsthand).
Storytelling & Bookmaking will be just one offering. Teachers can also choose Small Group Storytelling, Memoir, or Personal Statements, each of which is geared toward a different age group and need.
Although students won’t get to pose for author photos or enjoy the colorful murals at our centers for now, the virtual realm has its advantages.
“We plan to continue to offer Virtual Field Trips even after the pandemic ends, as an alternative opportunity for schools who either cannot afford the steep transportation costs associated with field trips, or whose distance from our physical locations makes it impractical for their classes to come to us,” Mike said. “Our hope is that Virtual Field Trips will continue to support our community of teachers who know our program, while also introducing a whole new world of teachers and students to our unique approach to writing.”
826LA did test runs of field trips with staff and volunteers. Cathy reported, “It was great to see that the energy and commitment of our volunteers brought the lesson to life on screen. It’s almost like watching a…live televised play? That you can take part in? Pretty cool if you ask me.”
Cathy said she was inspired by the creativity she saw teachers putting into their digital classrooms; this kind of cross-pollination is a reminder that 826LA is part of an ecosystem of support that includes educators, families, and volunteers. We’re excited to see the stories our students develop in this environment.
“You can never know what to expect when you sit down to work on a story with 25 second graders, virtually or otherwise,” Mike said, “but that also makes it exciting!”
To sign up for the Virtual Field Trips program, go here.