Over the weekend I read this little blurb written by Peter Tauck, president of Tauck Tours:
Last March I was at my daughter Ali’s parent-teacher conference. Right off the bat her teacher, Anne Hoover, said to me “I want you to know what an impact your children’s travel experiences have had on their academic and social development.” Anne is brilliant with the kids and is the most dedicated teacher I have known. I’m lucky to have had three of my four children in her first-grade class. Her statement really made me pause. I have taken my children, ages 8 to 14, on seven Tauck Bridges trips over the past seven years, and clearly Anne noticed an impact.
Anne continued, “They are so open to new ideas and they quickly grasp new material, whether it’s about geography, the rainforest, our Indian studies or our recent unit on Alaska, where Ali shared all she had seen and learned on her trip with you to Alaska last summer.” Mrs. Hoover and I explored this together for a minute. Knowing that many of the other students in her class are very well traveled, we were curious as to what was making the difference with my children. We concluded that the difference is between “experiential” travel versus “entertainment” travel. While many other kids do travel, in most cases it’s all about being pampered at a nice resort, being entertained at a Club Med, on a cruise ship, or at one of America’s great theme parks. While these trips are fun, nothing can compare to travel that exposes children to the real world in a fun and engaging way.
I’ve experienced this same thing with my own children. Ask them to sit in a classroom or read a textbook and learning is booooring. But take them to meet members of a Maasai tribe, who’ll teach the whole family how to perform their traditional dances, or let them stand in the very place ancient Romans stood to watch the gladiators battle, and suddenly history comes alive and people from other cultures become friends.
All this learning is great, right? We all want the children in our lives to be well rounded and SMART, but there’s something even more important than that – relationships. On a well designed educational vacation you’ll be having so much fun no one will be thinking about video games, text messages or facebook . (Or Blackberries!) You’ll be experiencing amazing things – together – and creating memories that will last a lifetime.
It’s still nice to spend a week on the beach or at a theme park, but nothing beats a vacation that changes you in a good way.
