Why Travel Is the Unrivaled Educator

ACHIEVE LASTING PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Traveling abroad allows students to cultivate independence while building crucial problem solving and critical thinking skills. As a result, students often report an increase in their self-confidence and a deeper understanding of their own cultural values and beliefs.

STRENGTHEN COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

College admissions departments recognize that sometimes cultural immersion can be more constructive than sitting in a classroom, since students gain important skills that can’t necessarily be taught. Traveling abroad also gives the opportunity to learn a foreign language. Speaking multiple languages is a skill that is not only valued, but becoming necessary when it comes to looking for a career after college.

GAIN A NEW PERSPECTIVE

Rick Steves, a popular travel guidebook writer and television host, once said in an interview with Salon, “It’s a very powerful Eureka! moment when you’re traveling: to realize that people don’t have the American dream. They’ve got their own dream. And that’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing.” Students who travel abroad are emerged in a brand new culture with different ideologies that challenge their own beliefs and help them grow as a person.

BRING HISTORY ALIVE

You could read about the Gladiators of Ancient Rome in a text book, but how can that compare to taking your students on a guided tour of the Colosseum where the bloody battles took place? Why does the Mona Lisa smile? Travel to France and rack your students’ brains while you stare at Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic masterpiece hanging in the Louvre.