Field trips have always ensured cherished bonding and educational experiences for countless students. As high schoolers approach adulthood, these excursions have become few and far between but not for campus English classes.

Students from honors English classes as well as the AP English class are planning to attend a trip to the National Steinbeck Center on Mar. 31 for the purpose of expanding their studies of renowned author, John Steinbeck, and the depression era.

The journey plans to provide teachers with extra-curricular material in addition to their in-class study by utilizing area literary resources.

“This trip is meant to give students perspective on John Steinbeck as a person and to appreciate the entire body of his works,” Jon Endicott, AP English teacher, said. “The kids will be able to better understand what he was trying to accomplish in the context of the central valley.”

The California Association of Teachers of English conference attended last month by campus teachers brought about the recent focus on Steinbeck.

“The book chosen to be studied at the conference was the Grapes of Wrath and the pre-conference focused on the voices of the dustbowl,” Molly Sargent, sophomore honors English teacher, said. “It would be a shame not to take advantage of having such an important literary museum so close to us.”

Not merely a day out of regular class schedules, students anticipate the learning experience with enthusiasm.

“I think it will be a good learning experience because we are reading The Grapes of Wrath in AP English,” Tiffany Kaiser, ’03, said. “It will be neat to explore the living conditions back then and getting a feel for the time.”

Other students have found that incentive from within the classroom as well as the activities of the day gives them more than enough reason to attend the outing.

“My teacher gave us a choice to either go on the trip or write a paper so naturally I chose the trip,” Brandon Cain, ’06, said. “We can learn visually what we learn in class and students will remember it better that way.”

Students and teachers will be departing for the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California via bus on Mar. 31 at 7 AM and returning by 5 PM. Visit www.steinbeck.org for more information on the National Steinbeck Center.