Teacher Appreciation Day: Four teacher travelers who inspire us

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day! To celebrate, we’re highlighting four of our teacher-travelers who inspire us by continually going above and beyond for their students. Read their stories:

Rynn G., Georgia

Rynn is a high school teacher who has taken students on tours all around the world, including to Italy & Croatia, Australia, and Barcelona, Madrid & Andalusia. He started the student travel program at his school and leads fundraising efforts to help more students travel. This is his last year of teaching; having traveled with over 500 students over more than a decade, he leaves a strong legacy of travel-based learning.

Why do you do student travel?
Travel is transformative. We go all over the world in search of other places, but what we end up discovering the most is ourselves. We gain tolerance, empathy, perspective — qualities that enhance our humanity and make the world a better place. I have watched our trips bring out the best in kids. They find courage they did not know they had, build confidence in their abilities, develop compassion, embrace the unknown and cultivate a sense of wonder. Their transformation is inspirational for me.

What has been your favorite trip, and why?

That is like asking which one is your favorite kid! We logically classify trips by the destination, but I remember them more by the students who traveled with me. I don’t have a favorite trip because I have unique, special memories of my students from every trip we have taken. All the funny stories, poignant moments, and powerful cultural experiences are woven into one big colorful tapestry for me, otherwise known as my life. Each trip is a part of the great journey.

What do you think the kids get out of it, and how do you try to go above and beyond for them? 

The benefits for kids are immeasurable. They develop a sense of adventure that gives them courage to chase their dreams. They discover that different doesn’t necessarily mean wrong. And, from an educational perspective, they find that learning can be great fun and isn’t confined to a classroom from 8 am – 3 pm.

My responsibility is to offer the most enriching experience I can for our students and to help as many of them travel with us as I can. We offer fundraisers such as yard sales, discount cards, fruit sales, doughnuts, etc. We solicit local businesses with fundraising letters and ask individuals in our community to help support our kids. It is my belief that any student at our school who is willing to work for it should have the opportunity to explore the world with us.

 

I heard this is your last year of teaching. Could you talk a bit about leaving a legacy of educational travel at your school?

Back in 2005, when I founded our international student travel program, I really thought it would just be a one-time thing. Thirteen trips, six continents, and 500 travelers later, our travel program has become an integral part of our school culture and is well known throughout our community. Kids in our elementary and middle schools already are looking forward to traveling with us and asking where we will be going when they get to high school. My dream is for our program to thrive long after I pass the reins to someone new. Our future students deserve the opportunity to be inspired; they deserve life-changing experiences that bring out their passion and wonder. I hope our travel program will continue to enrich the lives of our students by providing these experiences for many years to come.Joy D., Minnesota

Joy is a high school Spanish teacher who customizes tours to fit the needs of her students, sometimes making them from scratch. She recently took her students on Cuban Highlights, Panama, and Spain & Greece tours, and is planning future trips to Bolivia and Spain & Morocco. She also mentors other teachers as part of our Teacher to Teacher program. Read about how she goes above and beyond to give her students experiences they couldn’t get in Minnesota:

Why do you do student travel?
I want to create opportunities for students that want to know more about the world and its people. Student trips provide the stepping stones necessary to ignite a cultural appreciation that will carry into adulthood.

What has been your favorite trip, and why?
Panama! This country is loaded with unique experiences! Students swam in both oceans on the same day, danced with the Embera in their village, went deep sea fishing, played soccer with the locals in a highland town (turned into a community event) and of course experienced the canal!

What do you think the kids get out of it, and how do you try to go above and beyond for them?
The students get new perspectives: a stronger appreciation for their home (while they are away) and a stronger appreciation for others (once they return home). I want them to try activities that are not available in our home state of Minnesota: surfing, octopus fishing, swimming with the Amazon river dolphins…just to name a few.

Jason A. and Matthew H., Idaho

Jason and Matthew are middle school teachers who have taken students on eight tours, including one to the Central European Cities, and are planning tours to Dublin & the United Kingdom and Spain & Portugal. Read about how they customize their itineraries to make each tour the best it can be for their middle-grade students:

Why do you do student travel, specifically middle school travel?
We believe that if a person has a travel opportunity during their most impressionable years (middle school) then that individual will continue to seek additional adventures for life (high school, college, and beyond). Catching the “travel bug” in middle school leads to a bright future as a true world adventurer and informed global citizen!

What has been your favorite trip?
We both have loved all of our eight tours around the globe, making it hard to select a favorite single tour. All of our tours are customized, meaning every event, meal, and excursion is specifically selected by us and/or our tour consultant to enhance the experience of our middle-level students. Our kids have performed Greek dances, enjoyed Spanish sword shows, been mesmerized by Chinese acrobats, hiked into the ice caves and salt mines in Austria, and learned the ways of the Japanese Sumo. Every tour is a new chance to pique the curiosity of our middle-level kids and to share the wonders of the world with each of them. All of our tours have been phenomenal and successful in their own special ways.

What do you think the kids get out of it, and how do you try to go above and beyond for them?
We have both traveled extensively with our families but when we travel with students we strive to make our trips more than just “travel tours” and much more than “student vacations.” We believe these trips are an experiential immersion opportunity into new cultures for our travelers. We hope students not only learn more about the world around them, but also grow personally as they push outside of their own comfort zones. We see growth moments on every tour and they annually reinforce the importance of student travel to both of us. One of our favorite quotes, that we overheard a parent say while returning from our first tour was, “we took kids overseas and we returned with young adults.” This quote rings true on every tour we have taken since!

Sue S., Kentucky

Sue is a middle school arts and foreign language teacher who specializes in making sure students have a foundation of knowledge of a place before embarking on their tour. She has taken students on tours to Italy, France & Spain and Paris, Switzerland & Italy, and plans to take them to Central Europe next. Read about how seeing what they’ve read about in class opened Sue’s students’ eyes to the world:

Why do you do student travel?
I love to travel and want to instill that love in my students. I want them to experience other cultures and see the places we talk about in class. History comes alive to them when they see it for themselves. It’s fun for me to be part of that.

What has been your favorite trip, and why?
Choosing a favorite trip is like choosing a favorite child. I’ve loved parts of all of them for one reason or another. The time my group walked onto the porch of the Pantheon in Rome and one of them said, “You told us it was big but I didn’t know it was this big!” was a highlight. Seeing the Pont du Gard in southern France was a highlight for my entire group. Any trip with Rome is a good one.

What do you think the kids get out of it, and how do you try to go above and beyond for them?
I teach History & Appreciation of the Arts so the kids get to see many of the things we discuss in class. But as much as I try to prepare them, there’s nothing like seeing it in person. History becomes real to them. Watching the students experience another culture, learning how to buy a gelato or a piece of pizza and use money they are unfamiliar with, is so rewarding. But most importantly, they gain such self-confidence when traveling abroad. I’ve seen it happen over and over. I had a student start out the tour as the shyest kid in the group, but the last night he was dancing down the aisle of the bus while everyone chanted his name. On the way home, he told me that he had come out of his comfort zone on the trip. I asked him how he felt about that and he said “It was awesome!” It doesn’t get any better than that!

*Photo of Panama credited to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute