Field Trip Frustration--Can I do this better?

I'm a big fan of field trips because I believe that field trips expose students to inspiring learning events. A field trip can essentially open the door to new ideas, possibilities, and information a child might not ordinarily experience. I know that as a child, field trips opened doors for me, doors that actually elevated my own experience of life and the experiences of my children and students long after the field trip.

The challenge with field trips is the time factor. It takes a lot of time to prep and plan for a field trip. The time drain includes the following:

• Researching the field study.
• Contacting the organization (this is very difficult due to teachers' challenge with the ability to use a phone during the day-we simply don't have that kind of time).
• Prepping related learning materials and experiences.
• Collecting the funds.
• Collecting the permission slips.
• Filling out the field trip request form, check request forms, check/cash deposit forms, trip ship forms.
• Reviewing the forms with the office staff for precision and accuracy.
• Making sure that all chaperones are CORId and that they understand the details related to the field trip.
• Retrieving a receipt at the field trip location.
• The extra supervision and leadership the field trip requires. 

Some suggest that teachers should skip field trips altogether. When they say this, they cite safety issues, missed prep periods, and time. Yet, I'm not ready to take that advice--one reason that I teach is to open minds and open doors in children's lives, and I think that field trips do this.

I'm wondering though how I can do this better--what changes can I make?

Overall it's a matter of slowing down--teachers can't be all and do all, and we have to make the time we need to do the administrative tasks required in good time. We have to manage our days so that we have time everyday for administrative work including xeroxing materials, collecting student forms, listing lunch count, taking attendance, field trip paperwork, expert visitor information, and more. 

The latest field trip I planned took hours due to all kinds of issues including a new student information system that doesn't have up-to-date emails, a field trip organization that didn't return emails or phone calls in good time, a calculation error (haste makes waste), missing permission slips and field trip forms, lack of understanding some changes in the administrative process, and simply not making the time during work hours to do this work (mostly the work has to be done during work hours due to who you have to interface with by phone or in person to organize and complete the work).

I often say that an elementary school teacher is a "Jack of All Trades," and one of those trades is completing all the paperwork required for the job. We can't be all things, and we have to prioritize when it comes to what's most important. Onward.