Exploring the World Outside the Classroom: The Power of Educational Travel with Heidi Udall

In this week’s episode of the American Classroom podcast, hosts Jared Taylor and Lindsey Crosland are joined by a special returning guest - Heidi Udall. Heidi is the principal of Heritage Academy Mesa campus and has been an educator for 20 years. She is passionate about providing opportunities for students to learn both inside and outside the classroom through educational travel. Having led student trips to Europe for over a decade, Heidi has seen firsthand how exploring new places, meeting people from other cultures, and immersing oneself in novel experiences can create a truly transformative learning experience for young people.

1. Builds Confidence and Independence

One of the most powerful benefits of educational travel is how it helps students develop greater confidence and independence. Heidi shares that for many students, the overnight trip to explore Arizona in 7th or 8th grade is their first time staying in a hotel away from their parents. While still fully supervised and guided, this initial foray gives them the confidence that they can handle being away from home. This sets the stage for them to then embark on longer journeys later in high school.

Traveling to unfamiliar places, navigating public transportation in a big city like New York, or conversing with native speakers in a foreign language while in Puerto Rico all serve to expand students' comfort zones. They realize that they can figure things out, adapt to new situations, and thrive outside their typical environment. This newfound confidence and self-sufficiency will benefit them in countless ways throughout their lives.

2. Enhances Learning and Brings Subjects to Life

Educational trips allow students to take the knowledge and skills they have acquired in the classroom and apply them to the real world in tangible, memorable ways. Seeing Michelangelo's David in person gives profound new meaning to an art student's anatomy lessons sketched off worksheets. Strolling through the streets of Paris or Old San Juan, a student can put their Spanish or French skills to practical use by conversing with locals - an experience that can't be replicated by conjugating verbs in the classroom.

For students at a school like Heritage Academy that emphasizes history, educational travel is an amazing learning opportunity. Walking the Freedom Trail in Boston, standing in Independence Hall where the Founding Fathers debated, or surveying the battlefields of Gettysburg from Little Round Top - these experiences make history come alive in profound ways. Abstract concepts of liberty and justice become visceral when you see original copies of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence or walk in the footsteps of those who fought for freedom. Educational travel turns names and dates from a textbook into meaningful places and events that students will carry with them. 

3. Cultural Immersion Fosters Empathy, Open-Mindedness and a Global Perspective

Perhaps most importantly, educational travel cultivates vital skills and mindsets that students will draw upon long after the trip is over. Immersing yourself in an unfamiliar culture and interacting with people from dramatically different backgrounds encourages open-mindedness, empathy, and a broader perspective.

Heidi emphasizes how travel makes the world feel smaller and more connected. Students see firsthand how people across cultures and countries share fundamental similarities, even if outward differences are what first meets the eye. They experience the common humanity and generosity of spirit that transcends borders. Sharing a meal, playing music together, or being welcomed into a local's home engenders a visceral understanding of our shared human experience.

At the same time, thoughtfully engaging with other cultures reveals the many textures and flavors that make our world so diverse and interesting. It challenges our assumptions and stretches us to consider other worldviews. As Lindsey astutely points out, travel moves us beyond an ethnocentric perspective, judging everything outside our own experience as "weird" or "wrong" to a place of openness and appreciation. With the right attitude, the temporary discomforts of different foods, customs, or accommodations become opportunities for flexibility and personal growth. Students return home with a more expansive view of the world and their place in it.

4. School Trips Ignite a Passion for Learning and Future Travel

Finally, educational travel has the power to spark new passions and interests that shape students' lives long after the trip. A student who never thought much about art may return from Italy with a new fascination with the Renaissance masters. A trip to Greece or Egypt could inspire a budding archaeologist. Hearing personal accounts of WWII on the beaches of Normandy could light a fire under a future historian. 

In addition to academic and professional interests, educational trips instill a lifelong love of travel itself. That first chaperoned trip to the Grand Canyon or Washington DC could plant the seeds for a gap year backpacking around Europe or Southeast Asia. A class trip to Mexico might inspire a student to join the Peace Corps later and serve communities in South America. The confidence and curiosity to explore the wider world, engage with people from all walks of life, and seek out novel experiences may be educational travel's most lasting impact.

Igniting Lifelong Learning

As Hiedi, Jared, and Lindsey's experiences illustrate, educational travel offers students unique opportunities for personal growth and an avenue for building character that can scarcely be found within the four walls of a classroom. The confidence, grit, and wonder that blossom from these trips continue bearing fruit for a lifetime. Students come to appreciate both the vast diversity and fundamental connectedness of our human family. Hearts and minds are opened, comfort zones are expanded, and a passion for exploration is ignited.

If you're a parent, I encourage you to look into the travel opportunities offered through your child's school, as well as other educational experience providers. Scholarships, payment plans, and tax credits can help make these experiences accessible to families for whom cost is a barrier. You might also consider less expensive alternatives close to home, like a weekend camping trip to a state park or partnering with your child's teacher to organize a day trip to the state capital. 

The investment of time, money, and energy to give our children meaningful experiences outside the classroom pays dividends that compound over a lifetime. Few things can light a spark within a young person, like encountering an ancient monument they've only read about, having a heartfelt conversation with a local on the other side of the world, or pushing past fear to navigate an unfamiliar city and culture. The sense of empowerment and the broadened horizons that students bring home in their suitcases will shape their choices and enrich their communities for years to come.

Does your child's school offer educational travel? What trips or tours have left a lasting impact on you or a young person in your life?

If you want to learn more about the American Classroom podcast, please visit AmericanClassroom.Show.

Listen to the correlating episode here.

Watch the correlating episode here.