Educational Tours
71While growing up in Frankfort (Indiana) I started to develop my love for travel. Our family would always take vacations to different parts of the country and as I got older, the trips became longer and went further away.
After graduating from college, I started my first teaching job. It was during my second year of teaching that I came across an opportunity for my students to visit Orlando and Kennedy Space Center on an Educational Tour. From that first trip with students it became obvious that the students had a deep desire to travel and were willing to work hard to make it happen.
Today is no different. Students love to travel and they want to have new experiences and see all of things that they have learned about in text books. Taking students on educational tours enhances their learning greatly increases their knowledge retention and understanding. This is not by accident as studies have demonstrated that we learn best by experiencing (as compared with reading or lecture).
In the US alone, there are numerous places to visit and explore. And, student travel experiences do not have to be an expensive ordeal. There are plenty of destinations near each one of us that can serve as a starting point. Starting close to home will serve to get one used to traveling with students and will allow for an adjustment period so one can become familiar with the preparation it takes.
While teaching at Clinton Central H.S. in Michigantown, (Indiana) we took our classes on monthly field trips. We visited places like the Indy 500 Track and Race Museum, The Indianapolis Children's Museum, The Indiana War Memorial and there were many more places nearby like the Conner Prairie Settlement as well as the Battle of Tippecanoe Site. These sites were within a few hours drive and served as a practice field for future trips.
Later on I led trips to places like Orlando, Boston, Acadia National Park, South Dakota, Colorado, Mammoth Cave, and more. Each trip was a rewarding experience and my students learned and held on to what they had discovered long after the trip. I can still hear my students say to me, "Do you remember that time we went to Kennedy Space Center and..." or "...the time we climbed the Beehive in Acadia..." or made other similar comments. One time I had a parent tell me of his three daughters who were so excited (and exhausted) that they "fell asleep talking to him about the trip." What a reward.
No one should simply embark on a world-wide tour without some prior experience traveling with students, so start small. Take your students (or your children) on trips close to home. Have a learning objective in mind and make sure you accomplish that objective. Trust me, if you do not have clearly stated objectives, you students will not learn nearly as much as they can. It is painful for me to watch students in museums run from thing to things, all excited about what they see, but never learning anything because they are "turned loose" in a place with no plan. So, when you do decide to travel, make sure your purpose is clear.
Teachers can become some of the greatest people in our lives, and they should be. Hopefully, our parents are our best teachers (and will travel with their kids-and will travel with purpose). I recently returned with my six children from a trip to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York City. At every stop there were things we wanted to see and learn. We visited and toured the Capitol Building and the White House and both were wonderful. We explored the Smithsonian Museums, Arlington Cemetery, and the monuments and memorials. We saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We experienced the Constitution Center and the Federal Bank in Philly. We visited Times Square, the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center (great place), and we experienced the Phantom of the Opera (my 7 year old daughter Abby's favorite). It was an awesome trip and we learned a lot.
Like most parents we do watch a fair amount of TV. However, our television watching is mostly educational in nature. One of my favorite series is "The Revolution" on the History Channel. What does this have to do with travel? Plenty! I make my kids watch the series (I know I sound cruel). So, when we were in Independence Hall, my kids were transported back in time and were amazed. Not only that, but as we were driving from Philly to NYC, we passed a sign to Trenton. We did not even go there, but a sign started a conversation about December 1776 during one of young nation's darkest moments George Washington led an attack on the Hessian garrison in Trenton and came away with a resounding victory. Suddenly, Trenton had meaning.
Travel has so many benefits. Please travel with your students and your children. If thinking about all of the details sounds overwhelming, travel with a student travel company and let them take care of all of the details. It may seem like a lot, but the rewards outweigh the work. And your students and children will never forget it!
Hubs on various destinations:
