I agree with you! So many of so-called "reward" trips are nothing but a travel agent's dream. I coached cheerleading for almost 10 years until this year, and the reason I quit was because the community (cheerleaders' mothers, in particular) put so much pressure on the school to allow the squad to go on big trips. Every year we would go to camp at a local university and the cheerleading organization that sponsored it (I won't mention any acronyms) would make each girl feel so special when she was picked to be on the "All Star" squad. The girls who were chosen became eligible to go on a big trip (England and Hawaii were a couple) and cheer at a major event (Bowl game or big parade). Well, last year, I had had enough. I didn't mind being responsible for the girls at camp because I felt like we were close enough to home and the campuses were well-guarded. But I just didn't want to do the big trips, so I quit coaching. Last year, another teacher took over (a younger teacher who doesn't have children) and agreed to take whoever made it on the trip. They made it back in one piece, but while they were in Hawaii, one of the cheerleaders in their group (she was from Kentucky, I think) got drunk and fell out of a 10th story window and died instantly. When you are a chaperone and are responsible for 8-10 teens, it's just impossible to know what they're doing every minute of the day, no matter HOW much you try! I was SSSOOOO glad that I had quit!
Sarah