Out And About

 I’ve been running excursions for my students since 1992 when i took a wild bunch of inner-London kids to Kew Gardens. They are always nerve-wracking occasions as there are hidden and unknown dangers awaiting to be befall any teacher/supervisor. Nonetheless, students love them and it goes back to value added education.

Thus, i have asked each year band to identify a trip/excursion/outing or event to enhance their individual programmes of study for each of the three terms.

First up is Grade 3 and indeed even before i can invite myself, Mr Daniel, the newly developed Year Band Co-ordinator invites me to Suba, some 60kms out of Addis to look for biodiversity in this 500 year old forest / nature reserve.

The bus arrives on time outside the school and i offer to do the frontloading with the class to free Daniel up to round the other two Grade 3 classes up. He thanks me and dashes downstairs. And disappears for almost an hour. The bus has no working electrics and they have to offer us a replacement bus. 

 Our delight at finally leaving the school compound doesn’t last long however. Some 500 metres and we pull over at the side of the road. One of the tyres is out of synch and it takes a further hour to fix and repair. The kids are loud but generally fairly patient, and when we eventually get back on the road the kids are already hungry and attack their lunch boxes with vigour. With the drinks, it’s not too long before we have to stop off for a piss break.

We eventually arrive in Menagesha Suba for 1pm. Some three hours late. Not surprisingly the kids are hungry again , so we grab a quick bite before hurrying them on to the Hiking Trail. I call my secretary to ring round all the Grade 3 parents to inform them that we’re running seriously late. I predict 5 – 5.30pm but i want the parents to be on time, so i tell her 4.30. 

We were after a 5 - 7kms, but being so pushed for time we noisily meander up to the first viewing point some 1.5kms. We are given an interesting talk by an elderly park ranger and all the 51 students listen attentively. He is corrected when he identifies an animal as a carnivore instead of an omnivore and i swell with admiration.

We board the bus at 3pm – the time the kids finish classes, and endure the the Addis rush-hour traffic. It’s 5.15 by the time we arrive back at school, and fortunately almost all the parents are there to meet us.

The venue was good, the teachers admirable and the kids, too noisy for my liking, but well behaved. But it’s still probably the shittiest school excursion i have ever been a part of.