The importance of field excursions to education cannot be overstated. It is an opportunity to further your education in settings other than the classroom. Despite this, there are students who are unable to participate on field trips. Their parents might not be able to pay for them, or they might have a disability that keeps them from going. Sadly, this was the situation that 10-year-old Ryan King found herself in. Due to the fact that she had spina bifida, she feared that she would not be able to participate in the next field trip since the destination was not wheelchair accessible. But things quickly turned around.

Spina bifida is a disorder that affects a person from the time they are still in their mother’s womb and is caused by incomplete spinal development.  This results in a space being left in the bones, which may lead to irreversible damage being caused to the nervous system. This often results in children being weak and may even lead to complete paralysis of the legs.

In order to explore the fossil beds, Ryan’s class was on a field trip to Falls of the Ohio State Park. While she finds it annoying that certain structures and locations are not wheelchair accessible, there isn’t much you can do about nature. She yet continued to feel excluded.

Please welcome Jim Freeman, the teacher.  In order to ensure that Ryan wouldn’t miss anything, her caring teacher volunteered to carry her the whole way. She was thrilled beyond measure. He not only made studying easier for her, but he also gave her the opportunity to participate on an exciting field trip with her class that she otherwise would not have had. It should come as no surprise that Ryan’s mother, Shelly, has praised his behavior on Facebook.

She wrote, “If I haven’t talked about my kids’ school enough, listen to this.  Today, they have a field trip to Falls of the Ohio. Naturally, not accessible. I was preparing for a ‘alternate field trip day’ when a male teacher reached out and said ‘I’m happy to tote her around on the falls all day!’”

She said, “She is very excited to do this independently from me. We are really fortunate to have a whole school that is so kind and understanding and never makes her feel excluded.”

Watch the video below, and let’s thank this teacher for being kind in the comments.
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