Field Trip =)

Last Tuesday our block had the opportunity to spend part of the day on a field trip. The main purpose of this field trip was for us to become aware of the resources that we have in the area, for when we are teachers. For our trip we went to the Center for History in South Bend. One section of the group decided to take a tour through the Studebaker Museum, another section toured the museum in the Center for History, and a third section went on a guided tour through Copsaholm, the mansion belonging to the Olivers, a very prominent, wealthy family in South Bend's history. J.D. Oliver, who built the mansion, was the president of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, a business begun by his father. Due to the fact that the Plow Works is no longer in operation, many people are unaware of who the Olivers were. However, the Olivers were one of the wealthiest families in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although I have toured Copsaholm several times previously, I never get tired of seeing the elegance, historicity, and lavishness of the beautiful mansion.

One of the things that I felt made the field trip most fun was the presence of two children belonging to members of the group. I felt that their presence gave us a better idea of the kinds of observations and comments that children would make during a field trip to a place such as this. Their comments also had us all giggling, sometimes covertly and sometimes out loud. I think that a field trip to a place like Copsaholm could really help children to start understanding the ways that people lived in earlier times.