A School Field Trip Gone Wrong

School Field Trip

A teacher in Cusco, Peru, took her class on a field trip to the Monaco Circus.  While there she volunteered to participate in a lion act, mainly to show her class that the lion was not aggressive.

The act started out well, but suddenly the lion jumped off of a small ladder and bit the teacher around the neck and dragged her around the enclosure.  The lion tamer was able to get the lion to release the teacher, who stood up afterwards.

The teacher suffered no head wounds, but may need surgery on her neck.

School Field Trip Analysis

An incident like this is a school's nightmare.  An innocent trip turned into disaster because of an unforeseen situation.

This is a great time to review your safety protocols for field trips. Ask yourself a few questions:
1) How will your group communicate with the school in an emergency?
2) What procedures do you have spelled out for incidents while on the school bus heading to and from the destination?
3) Have you spelled out, in writing, the supervisory expectations of the school?
4) Do all the adults on the trip know of any special medical considerations?  Epi-pens, insulin, etc.?
5) Are students instructed to stay in groups?
6) What procedures do you have in place to maintain 100% accountability?
7) What are the curricular goals for the trip?  Will any activity during the trip be in support of these goals?

There are others that each school can develop.  Like other aspects of school safety, prior planning and preparation can reduce the likelihood of something happening, and help the adults in charge be better prepared if something does happen.

Enjoy your trips!