“I want to
encourage my students to go beyond the here and now, to explore the THERE and WOW.”
Life is short and the world is big...explore it while you can!
-Students in Nicaragua - May 2016
I'm leaving on a jet plane.
-Students on a plane to Costa Rica. - May 2016
It's ok to be messy, life is messy.
-Students in a swamp at an organic farm in Ecuador. - May 2014
As a language teacher, my goal is to help my students see beyond the four walls of my classroom, beyond the school where they spend years of their lives, beyond the city that they call home, beyond the state that some of them have never pondered leaving, and beyond the borders of our nation to a world that might be different from their own. I want them to see the sights and feels of culture that cannot be gleaned from a text. I want them to immerse themselves in a language that is tough and challenging and that humbles them as they learn. Most of all, I want them to realize that this world is theirs to explore. These are the reasons why I take students abroad regularly.
I took my first trip outside of Kansas, as a scared but excited teenager at the age of 14. I was chosen to be a part of a group of young leaders to visit Washington D.C. as part of a National Young Leadership Conference or NYLC. My parents were hesitant to send me, but what parents wouldn't be? I was nervous but I knew that I had earned the opportunity to go. My grades were great and I was respected by my peers and teachers. It wouldn't have been so scary as a group trip, but the initial flight was on my own. This was only the second time I had ever been on a plane and I had no recollection of the first experience. I didn't know what adventures were in store for me. What I did know, was that I was meant to get on the plane and attend the conference.
Through this experience I met students from all over the United States, some of whom I still talk to as at the age of 30. The purpose of the conference was to develop my leadership skills and encourage my interests in politics and although these missions were accomplished; the lessons that I think about now went way beyond the scope and intent of the conference. I realized that a lot people do not talk the same as all of my friends and family in Kansas. (To them, I was the one with the accent!) I realized that food flavors vary depending on the region of the country you are in because of the availability of resources. I learned that there was more to fashion than just "normal" or "farmer". I truly understood what a "city" looked like. I communicated with people who had VERY different viewpoints on a lot of issues (religion, sex and immigration, just to name a few), and I was able to see and understand their points of view. I'm not saying that all of these things would not have happened to me, had I not attended this conference, but I know that they would not all have happened at once and knowing some of my peers, there is a large possibility that they may not have happened.
After this experience in Washington D.C., I knew that learning and traveling were passions that I possessed. I dove into studying Spanish, because I thought it would benefit me the most in my future. Who knew I would one day teach it and show my Kansas students the Spanish-speaking world?! I knew that in order to understand my culture, I needed to experience others. I began to fill my small bubble with experiences. I visited over 20 states before graduating high school. As a college student, I spent 6 months in Chile on a study abroad tour through Emporia State University. I spent 1 month in Puerto Rico traveling with a friend and visiting with her family. I have explored Bolivia and Spain on my own. I traveled to Canada with my family. I received a Fulbright Award from the United States Government to develop curriculum with other foreign language teachers for 6 weeks in Peru. But most importantly, I have been to Ecuador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and now Panama with my own students. (All of these experiences will be posted on the blog at some point in time.)
Right, wrong, or indifferent, traveling exposes you to things. It exposes you to unknowns, possibilities, chances, experiences and alternative realities. It makes you question and determine who you are and through reflection, it helps make you a stronger individual.
My students now have feelings of knowing that travel/discover is something that they have to do, of excitement for meeting new people, of longing to know what lies beyond the town where they have always lived, of wanting to see the sunset on a different landscape and to know that they have walked a different path. It it my goal to make it a possibility for them.
-Heather Potter, Student Group Travel Leader
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