The Ag/Science program is well known for the many exciting field trips that students are able to attend throughout their high school experience. The Ag/Science juniors went to Alcatraz to learn more about the history of the island on Nov. 4.

“Each field trip that we do has an assignment,” Ag/Science Coordinator Mike Woodward said. “Since junior year is US History, we go to Alcatraz and students have to analyze its history and geography.”

The students are expected to look at Alcatraz as a timeline- from where it was originally built as a Civil War fort, later became a prison, and then was occupied by Native Americans.

“Students also have to explain what about its location made it a good prison,” Woodward said.

“I learned that Alcatraz was surprisingly known for its good food compared to other prisons,” Tracy High junior Bayleigh Fan, who attended the field trip, said. “The warden knew poor food often caused prison riots, so he tried his best to serve gourmet prison food.”

The trip is not only meant to teach students about history and geography, it also is meant to bring the Ag/Science program closer together as a whole.

“In addition to applying the concepts they’re learning in their classes to the real world, it’s also about building that sense of community and understanding that they have a whole group of people to help them,” Woodward said.

“The trip was like a living history lesson because we got to be there and see where everything actually happened,” Fan said.

Tracy High junior Keita Moore has been in the Ag/Science program since his freshman year and also attended the recent field trip to Alcatraz.

“While on the trip, we toured Alcatraz and visited the pier afterward,” Moore said. “I think the field trip is significant because Alcatraz is an important part of American history.”

“The tour of the island was really interesting,” Moore said.

The field trip enabled students to get to know their peers at a greater level while also learning about an important piece of history near the place that they live.

“Alcatraz is one of the most interesting places I’ve ever been,” Fan said. “I’m happy that we were fortunate to live so close and were able to go.”

“I believe that the trip makes what the students learn in class more meaningful,” Woodward said.

Altogether, the trip was a success for both the students and the teachers. The teachers were able to show the students that the topics they learn in class are relevant to the real world, as well as enabling students to visually see what they are taught.