Why Teachers Should Travel
“Oh, you are a teacher,” my Dominican guide, Yunior, exclaimed with excitement. “There is a school up ahead, let’s pay them a visit!” Imagining how I would feel if a dozen foreign visitors dropped by unannounced in my classroom, I responded that I did not want to interrupt any ongoing lessons. “Nonsense,” Yunior replied, and we were off.
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Can Travel Fight Racism in the Classroom?
“What are your country’s stereotypes of Mexicans?” my Spanish teacher asked.
I was attending a Spanish immersion school in Mexico, learning irregular verb tenses and trying to figure out exactly what was meant by the pluperfect when this question came up. I was a bit surprised and at a loss for an immediate answer. Thinking about the many Mexicans I had met, nothing came close to the vitriol and slander so often heard on the airways (and Twittersphere) at home.
13 Ways to Use Your Travel Experiences in Your Classroom
Many teachers are avid world explorers. We can use our travel experiences in the classroom to create wonderful opportunities for learning. Through my own trips I've transported my students to Mayan temples deep in the jungle and to Roman ruins on the Mediterranean coast. I know teachers that have brought their classes to the frozen Arctic, volcanic mountain tops, and mosquito-ridden swamps. We’ve celebrated Semana Santa in Mexico and Ramadan in Egypt.
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Getting the Bump: Benefitting from Overbooked Flights
Greg Jackson is a teacher who loves to travel. But how can he afford to go on trips when his only breaks happen during the high season--the most expensive times of the year to travel? In this guest post, Greg shares one of his secrets with us. Next time you fly, implement some of these strategies and you may end up putting some cash in your pocket! Take it away, Greg!