I remember being a kid and taking family vacations during school -- nothing extraordinarily interesting just visiting the grandparents in Florida. I also remember my teachers piling on the homework for the lessons I would miss while I was gone.
Now as an adult, my little family and I just took a vacation to someplace much more extraordinary for us Americans. We visited Singapore and Thailand. While I was gone, I was thinking about what a fantastic opportunity family travel is for school teachers to help educate their classroom about the world. Not every American student gets the opportunity to travel to Southeast Asia, but every trip is an experience.
For me, growing up in Pennsylvania, visiting Florida was not too exciting. But, I'm certain many of my classmates had never been to Florida, had never left the state or been on an airplane. What would have been interesting was if my teachers had asked me to report on cultural or environmental differences I noticed during my family vacation. I'm sure this would have make me look deeper at my surroundings rather than just thinking of it as another trip to see the grandparents. Upon my return, I could have shared my experiences with my classmates.
With the holiday season coming up, it could be a good opportunity for students to report on and share their experiences outside the classroom with their classmates. The one student who visits Upstate New York might have some interesting tidbit to share along with the other who went to see family in Central America or the Midwest US. Travel should be an opportunity for students to take note of their surroundings and what is different culturally, environmentally, ethnically. By assigning them to report on their experiences, they will certainly notice things they wouldn't have otherwise.
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