Social studies teacher Faith Sizemore plans on chaperoning a trip to France and Spain in July with EF tours. This tour allows students to explore new places, create new experiences, and to gain skills such as independence and confidence by traveling without parents.
“I heard about EF through other teachers at Vandegrift who have led student trips and told me about their awesome experiences,” Sizemore said. “The trip to France and Spain I’m leading in July will be my first trip with students.”
EF labels their tours as “educational but fun.” They say that students will be able to experience “magical a-ha moments,” create new experiences, and convey cross-cultural understanding.
“I am really excited about this opportunity,” Sizemore said. “As a history teacher, one thing I try to emphasize to my students is that social studies equips them with skills they will use every day, like cultural awareness, empathy, and the ability to understand and analyze perspectives different from one’s own. I think travel is an amazing way for students to see those effects in a more immediate and tangible way.”
The trip includes a wide variety of destinations like the Louvre, the Eiffel Towel, Notre Dame, and La Sagrada Família. The group will also have the option to attend a flamenco performance in Barcelona and trek the Montserrat mountain range.
“I think travel itself is a great opportunity to learn about different cultures and perspectives,” Sizemore said. “Travel helps students build confidence and independence, while also having fun. School trips are an amazing way for students to get to know their peers and make memories with friends.”
In previous years, English teacher Kylie Warkentin chaperoned these summer trips with EF, traveling to the Alps and Mediterranean this past summer. The prior year, Warkentin led a group to Rome and Athens.
“I really think traveling is such an important element of understanding who you are and growing as a person,” Warkentin said. “In college, I was lucky enough to study abroad in Rome for six weeks. In addition to furthering my understanding of the Italian language and the concepts I was studying in class, the experience of being an outsider in a different country and having to figure out how they conduct their daily lives, how they think about the world, and how they think about me as an American, was so foundational in shaping me as a person.”
The trip has a maximum of 15 people, but if the trip gathers enough interest, they may raise the limit of students allowed.
“Because I had that experience, and because I teach IB, I was more than happy to chaperone the trips,” Warkentin said. “I like partnering with EF in particular because they allow students the same freedom to learn about themselves and the world away from their parents I had, while still giving them the support and learning opportunities of an educational trip.”
