+U.N.C.L.E. Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 gc.com says that you should not place caches on or near schools. The reasons are obvious. What do you feel about a cache being placed on school grounds "with permission"? I assume that such permission has come from the principal of the school. The cache is at a minor historical site that just happens to be on a school's property. Whilst the cache page says that it is placed with permission it does not mention that it is on school grounds. Whilst the principal has (presumably) given permission my concern is that not every single staff member or student will be aware of that and the behaviour of a cacher seeking the cache could easily cause alarm to such staff or students. I think this is probably an OK hide provided the cache page makes it clear that the cache is on school grounds and that it should only be visited outside of school hours. An alternative is that the historical item can be seen clearly from outside the school grounds so perhaps the cache could be re-located to a point outside the grounds and cachers given directions about where to look to see the item. The cache has obviously been approved by a reviewer but I fear it is a recipe for another "Police called out to geocacher" type incident and that is not in the interests of our activity. Can the "Don't cache on school grounds" policy of gc.com ever be over-ridden? Quote Link to comment
+Vater_Araignee Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I don't like the concept, and in my community the Principal can not give that permission. If I see someone caching I'll approach them, inform them that even tho someone listed a cache it is in violation of school policy making anyone seeking it a trespasser. I'll even try to be polite, but if they refuse to leave then I'm going to call the police. Quote Link to comment
+Griffin! Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I think if it's a historical site, why not? Especially if the school endorses it. Plus, it could prove to be a great opportunity to teach the students a little about history through geocaching by a teacher incorporating it into a lesson. Quote Link to comment
+U.N.C.L.E. Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 There is an old argument in these forums that geocaching has no "rules", only "guidelines". With that in mind I just went back to gc.com's website and had a look at the "Rules/Guidelines". I noticed that the word rule doesn't seem to be used (the word guideline is however). But, gc.com heads up their cache placement instructions with "Geocache Placing Requirements/Guidelines". Now, there's a word that doesn't seem to be brought up much in forum discussions- REQUIREMENTS. The Collins dictionary defines "requirement" as "something demanded or imposed as an obligation". That sounds like a rule to me. So when gc.com imposes the following "requirement" is it optional or mandatory that persons listing a cache on gc.com follow it?: Geocaches are not placed on school property or military bases. Many primary, middle and secondary schools, as well as most military bases do not allow geocaching within their borders. Further, it is inadvisable to place geocaches near schools or military bases as the borders shown on a map may be inaccurate. Geocachers who are actively searching for a cache are likely to arouse suspicion in such environments, and we want to avoid this situation. So let's clarify this- gc.com wants to avoid geocachers arousing suspicion in school environments therefore geocaches are not to be placed on school property. This is a "requirement" of gc.com. It doesn't say that this "requirement" can be bargained away by gaining the permission of the school. Or that it can be swept aside by a reviewer. This cache concerns me. Geocaching doesn't need to add to the growing number of "brushes with the law" that geocaching has caused around the world. Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 While asking a principal about a cache on the grounds of a school in Arizona, I found out that school grounds (in Arizona) are the same as public parks after school hours. I still wouldn't recommend the practice. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 One of my favorite caches is a multi-cache that features murals painted by middle-school students, and displayed on the walls of their school campus. The school welcomes visitors when school is not in session. But as the guidelines state, there is no precedent for placing geocaches, so an identical cache might not be listed today. Quote Link to comment
+sword fern Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 One of my favorite caches is a multi-cache that features murals painted by middle-school students, and displayed on the walls of their school campus. The school welcomes visitors when school is not in session. But as the guidelines state, there is no precedent for placing geocaches, so an identical cache might not be listed today. Ive found a multi cache that makes you count certain objects on a school tile mural. It's a pretty small elementary school in the woods. I am not sure if the school allows visistors or not, all I know is that I was there in the weekend. Quote Link to comment
+Ike 13 Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I have found 7 caches in my local area on school grounds. ALL have explicit permission, and ALL explicitly say to hunt after school, on weekends, over the summer, or to check in with the office. 1 is placed by a student, 2 are placed by a teacher at the school, and 3 were placed by the school geocaching club (sometimes with the help of a local cacher). As a teacher, as long as they have permission I am completely fine with these hides. I know that my reviewer is very strict on these and has even called the school to make sure permission has been given. Quote Link to comment
+SeekerOfTheWay Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Generally, I'm not too interested in searching at a school. For the same reason I avoid Stealth Required caches. I don't enjoy being watched. I found one cache, at a school for The deaf and blind and it was pretty good. The cache page made it clear that it was hidden with permission. I did that one in the summer to avoid school kids. I won't go for another school cache again. Quote Link to comment
+Hawkins2.5 Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I agree with the OP that it should state on the cache page that it is in school grounds and that it should be sought out of school hours. That means it is then down to the individual whether or not they are comfortable with this type of hide. Perhaps a message to the CO just to let them know that some people may not like to get there and then find the cache is on school grounds and maybe s/he could mention it on their page? Or a message to the reviewer if the CO won't respond? I take your later point that it could lead to more bad press for geocaching. However, if people are informed that they should search out of school hours and choose to ignore the warning then that is down to the foolishness of individuals, which could happen at any cache. Quote Link to comment
+HistDrew Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 I won't go for another school cache again. Ditto. I went for a cache that was on school ground. The page for the cache didn't mention this. I later found out from the CO that he thought he had permission form the principal to hide the cache. That didn't matter to the Asst. Principal and the maintenance guy. They'd never heard of geocaching, much less that particular cache. They wanted to call the police, and it took a great deal of convincing on my part to get them not to. They also wanted the cache off the grounds ASAP. It didn't help that I couldn't find the cache. No school grounds hides. Quote Link to comment
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