Jackson Jambalaya

 This post is a guest column submitted by a reader PBK.   

This week, a notice came home in my child’s backpack. You know the kind — a bright flyer, a permission slip at the bottom, and just enough excitement in the wording to make every middle schooler instantly say, “YES.”

The destination?

Topgolf.

Now before anyone jumps to conclusions, let me say this upfront: I like Topgolf. It’s fun. It’s social. It’s a perfectly fine place for families, friends, birthday parties, and team outings.

But that’s exactly the point.

It’s a perfectly fine entertainment venue.

And that’s what makes it so puzzling as a Beta Club field trip destination.

Because when you step back and think about what Beta Club actually stands for, something doesn’t quite add up.

What Beta Club Is Supposed to Be About

Beta Club isn’t just another school club looking for ways to fill time on a calendar. Its core mission is very clear:

To promote academic achievement, character, leadership, and service.

Field trips connected to organizations like Beta Club traditionally serve a specific purpose — they are meant to provide hands-on learning experiences that complement academic and civic goals.

Students are supposed to engage in activities that:

• Build leadership skills
• Encourage teamwork in meaningful contexts
• Foster community awareness
• Connect learning to real-world service

When you think about that mission, certain types of trips naturally come to mind:

• Visiting historical sites
• Participating in community service projects
• Touring civic institutions
• Exploring science or cultural centers

A recreational driving range — no matter how polished — doesn’t seem to fit comfortably into that framework.

The Bigger Question: Entertainment vs. Enrichment

The issue here isn’t whether kids will have fun.

Of course they will.

The real question is this:

Should public school academic clubs be using instructional time and resources to visit private, for-profit entertainment venues whose primary purpose is recreation and revenue?

That’s not a moral judgment about businesses. Private companies serve important roles in the economy.

But there is a philosophical line worth considering:

Public education exists to advance learning and civic development.
Commercial entertainment exists to generate customer engagement and profit.

When those two worlds intersect in the context of an academic honor club, it’s fair to ask whether the educational value is truly leading — or whether marketing exposure and convenience are quietly taking center stage.

If This Makes Sense… Where Does It End?

Once you accept the logic that any activity can be framed as “educational” with enough creativity, the boundaries start to blur quickly.

For example:

If Beta Club can go to Topgolf because it involves coordination, teamwork, and physics principles…

Then why shouldn’t a MathCounts team visit a poker hall?
After all, probability, risk calculation, and mental arithmetic are deeply embedded in card strategy.

Or why not send a choir group to a casino lounge?
They could observe professional performers and learn about audience engagement, stage presence, and performance adaptability.

Taken to its logical conclusion, almost any entertainment setting can be retrofitted with an educational justification.

But doing so risks diluting the meaning of what an educational field trip is supposed to be. 

What Meaningful Field Trips Look Like

Many families have seen firsthand what purposeful enrichment trips can look like.

Students visit places like:

• Arboretums and nature centers to connect with environmental science
• Zoos to study ecosystems and conservation
• Arts and cultural museums to explore creativity and history
• Civil rights museums to understand social justice and civic responsibility

These experiences don’t just entertain — they expand perspective.

They create lasting connections between classroom learning and the real world.

And most importantly, they align directly with the values that organizations like Beta Club are meant to promote.

This Isn’t About Fun — It’s About Alignment

To be clear, this isn’t a criticism of Topgolf.

Nor is it an argument that students shouldn’t enjoy themselves.

Kids absolutely deserve fun experiences, social bonding, and opportunities to relax together.

But a Beta Club field trip isn’t meant to be just another outing.

It’s supposed to reflect the club’s core principles:

• Academic excellence
• Leadership development
• Character building
• Community service

And it’s difficult to see how hitting microchipped golf balls for a couple of hours meaningfully advances those goals.

A Simple Standard

Perhaps the simplest test is this:

If you removed the word “field trip” and described the activity honestly, would it still sound like an educational experience — or would it sound like a recreational outing?

If the answer is the latter, then maybe it belongs in a different category altogether.

Fun has its place.

But honor societies and academic clubs should aim for something more than fun.

They should aim for purpose.

Yours truly,

PBK.  

PS: I also want to say this — I completely understand that schools have to work within real-world constraints. Planning field trips isn’t easy. There are budgets to manage, safety rules to follow, transportation logistics, staffing limitations, and the simple reality that teachers are already stretched thin. Sometimes choices come down to what is affordable, available, and easy to organize. This isn’t meant as criticism of educators or administrators, who care deeply about students and do the best they can with what they have. It’s simply meant to start a broader conversation about how we think about “enrichment” and how closely those experiences line up with the core purpose of academic clubs.