Lloyd's Reflection
When I think of field trips, I usually think of museums, like the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Not a place like the Maggie Walker House. I went to Maggie Walker House with my friend Caitlin Marshall on April 4, 2013. I was indifferent about going to this historic site; I thought it would be interesting, but not a place fourth grade students would want to go to on a field trip. I was wrong.
When first arriving at the Maggie Walker museum, Caitlin and I were greeted by the friendly National Park Service staff at the visitor’s center. We began our tour watching a short film about Maggie Walker and her life. When the film ended, a tour guide led us into Maggie Walker’s home and told us about her life and contributions to the African American community. The tour ended in the courtyard where the tour guide opened the floor for questions.
Before asking any questions, Caitlin and I both thought the film and tour were educational and interesting, but would these two activities hold a fourth grader’s interests? Not really. We asked our tour guide a few questions about how Maggie Walker House caters to elementary students. Our tour guide and the National Park Service answered our question by showing us how they accommodate elementary school field trips. They showed us all the activities the children can do, like a scavenger hunt, role playing, activity sheets and more! The children do these activities before, during and after the tour. Caitlin and I thought this trip met all educational purposes.
Experiencing Maggie Walker House was wonderful! My favorite part of the trip was seeing Maggie Walker’s sunroom. Maggie added the sunroom to her sleeping quarters so she could get fresh air (being bound to a wheelchair makes it difficult to go outside, even if there is an elevator in the house) and keep
an eye on her thriving community, Jackson Ward. Maggie Walker loved and valued the Jackson Ward community; because of Jim Crow Laws, Maggie Walker strived to make Jackson Ward a safe community for African Americans.
My least favorite part of the trip was the tour guide. The tour guide knew a lot about Maggie Walker, but was not able to answer many follow up questions. While Caitlin and I were on the tour, an unexpected discovery occurred; a woman in our tour group took over the tour! She was very knowledgeable about Maggie Walker; she knew about Maggie’s origins, the development of Jackson Ward and Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School (she attended!). After a while, everyone was asking the woman questions about Maggie Walker instead of the tour guide. The tour guide didn’t seem to mind, but he didn’t encourage the woman to take over either. If this situation happened on a field trip I planned, I would invite the person (student or parent) to share their comments with everyone and thank them for giving us more information. The point of our field trip is to learn, and what better way to learn than from each
other?
There is not much that I would change about Maggie Walker House, except the tour guide. Though he
was knowledgeable, I think he needs to do more research on Maggie Walker and her contributions to the African American community (like how she helped establish Jackson Ward, who she influenced, and so forth). He should also be more energetic when giving a tour and show confidence. Besides the tour guide, I thought Maggie Walker House was a lovely place to visit.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Maggie Walker House. The film, tour, and activities all strive to make Maggie Walker House a destination for meaningful learning. Even if I did not take a fourth grade class to Maggie Walker House, I would encourage parents to take their kids to this historic site. I feel very confident that going on a field trip to Maggie Walker House is educational and engaging to fourth grade students.
When first arriving at the Maggie Walker museum, Caitlin and I were greeted by the friendly National Park Service staff at the visitor’s center. We began our tour watching a short film about Maggie Walker and her life. When the film ended, a tour guide led us into Maggie Walker’s home and told us about her life and contributions to the African American community. The tour ended in the courtyard where the tour guide opened the floor for questions.
Before asking any questions, Caitlin and I both thought the film and tour were educational and interesting, but would these two activities hold a fourth grader’s interests? Not really. We asked our tour guide a few questions about how Maggie Walker House caters to elementary students. Our tour guide and the National Park Service answered our question by showing us how they accommodate elementary school field trips. They showed us all the activities the children can do, like a scavenger hunt, role playing, activity sheets and more! The children do these activities before, during and after the tour. Caitlin and I thought this trip met all educational purposes.
Experiencing Maggie Walker House was wonderful! My favorite part of the trip was seeing Maggie Walker’s sunroom. Maggie added the sunroom to her sleeping quarters so she could get fresh air (being bound to a wheelchair makes it difficult to go outside, even if there is an elevator in the house) and keep
an eye on her thriving community, Jackson Ward. Maggie Walker loved and valued the Jackson Ward community; because of Jim Crow Laws, Maggie Walker strived to make Jackson Ward a safe community for African Americans.
My least favorite part of the trip was the tour guide. The tour guide knew a lot about Maggie Walker, but was not able to answer many follow up questions. While Caitlin and I were on the tour, an unexpected discovery occurred; a woman in our tour group took over the tour! She was very knowledgeable about Maggie Walker; she knew about Maggie’s origins, the development of Jackson Ward and Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School (she attended!). After a while, everyone was asking the woman questions about Maggie Walker instead of the tour guide. The tour guide didn’t seem to mind, but he didn’t encourage the woman to take over either. If this situation happened on a field trip I planned, I would invite the person (student or parent) to share their comments with everyone and thank them for giving us more information. The point of our field trip is to learn, and what better way to learn than from each
other?
There is not much that I would change about Maggie Walker House, except the tour guide. Though he
was knowledgeable, I think he needs to do more research on Maggie Walker and her contributions to the African American community (like how she helped establish Jackson Ward, who she influenced, and so forth). He should also be more energetic when giving a tour and show confidence. Besides the tour guide, I thought Maggie Walker House was a lovely place to visit.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Maggie Walker House. The film, tour, and activities all strive to make Maggie Walker House a destination for meaningful learning. Even if I did not take a fourth grade class to Maggie Walker House, I would encourage parents to take their kids to this historic site. I feel very confident that going on a field trip to Maggie Walker House is educational and engaging to fourth grade students.