Passports Custom-designed Lesson Plans Have Many Beneficiaries

For Classroom Teachers

It is often said that teachers are among the lowest-paid true professionals on earth, doing an extraordinary amount of hard work behind the scenes of which few non-teachers are aware-–lesson planning, field trip planning, party planning, grading papers, building relationships with students and oftentimes their parents, and much more.  It is arguably one of the most time-consuming vocations in the world.  And these teachers certainly don’t get paid for the extra hours/weeks/years that they put into their jobs. The average high school teacher spends over 10 hours a week writing lesson plans alone. That's an extra full week of work every month. This adds up to at least eight extra weeks a year or two additional months of mostly unpaid but highly skilled effort.  Here’s how we can help.

Passports is known as being the only educational travel company that was founded by educators– college professors hailing from Ivy League universities in fact.  Passports enlisted the aid of a group of carefully-selected high school teachers from around the country to create over 200 lesson plans, which, if utilized by Passports group organizers, can save these teachers hundreds of hours of lesson planning time each year and hopefully restore some balance to their overworked schedules.

For Students

If the “average” high school European history student were to be asked how much interest they would have in someday seeing St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, you might be able at that point to hear the proverbial pin bounce off the floor of the classroom. St. Paul’s what?

If that same student had recently enrolled on a Passports trip to Europe that included visiting London, at least mild curiosity would be expressed, knowing that they would soon be actually seeing this famous “church.”  All of a sudden it became just a little more real to them.

But if that same student had recently spent a classroom period based on the Passports’ custom lesson plan World War II (1939-1945): England: St. Paul Stands against the Blitz, he or she would likely have an entirely different reaction to the mention of St. Paul’s, having just learned in very graphic detail about the role this church played in actually helping the country to survive the Nazi air attacks or “Blitzkrieg.” 

Surrounded by bombed rubble, it alone…

“wreathed in billowing smoke, amidst the chaos and destruction of war, the pale dome stands proud and glorious—indomitable.” At the height of that air raid, Sir Winston Churchill telephoned the Guildhall to insist that all fire-fighting resources be directed at St Paul's. “The cathedral must be saved”, he said, “as damage to the fabric would sap the morale of the country."

Since nearly every building surrounding St. Paul’s had been destroyed, this huge cathedral miraculously survived and became the very symbol of the heroism and defiance displayed by Britain that eventually, “with a little help from their friends,” the Americans, led to an allied victory in World War II. Now, that initially indifferent history student can’t wait to get to London to see this amazing and still-resplendent structure.

There’s an additional benefit that creative and well-produced lesson plans can provide, especially if they are utilized by… 

Teachers who are organizing student trips to Europe

By using Passports lessons plans, of which more than 200 can be found on our website, these teachers have the best of both worlds.  Our lesson plans were created with two primary goals–to educate in a very compelling fashion all students who were studying history, whether of ancient Greece or events taking place all the way to the present day. At the same time, these lesson plans are targeted to the travel destinations yet to be seen, thus actually connecting the classroom experience to the overseas experience. They not only educate but also generate a real enthusiasm for the forthcoming trip.  A classic win-win for both students and teachers alike.