12 Reasons Teachers Should Travel to Learn and Grow

Even with a “summer break”, a teacher’s schedule is very busy and extremely hectic. It is crammed full of meetings, creating lesson plans, and dealing with parents/administration. It is important for teachers to keep up with professional development, so why combine that with traveling. 

Traveling as a teacher will let you grow as a person and a teacher, while still having the ability to take a break from the classroom. It is important to gain a new perspective, learn and pick up new skills/information that you can bring back to the classroom and your school.

You may think that your vacation is just about relaxation and that should be a focus as well. But here are other reasons that it is important to travel, learn and grow as a teacher. 

Bring a Deeper Knowledge to Your Students

When you actually visit a place and learn first hand you can show that in your classroom. This could be from anecdotes, photos, videos, or even items that you have collected. We often teach the same subjects and do our best to teach them in different and unique ways but that doesn’t give us much room for inspiration. I asked Patrick O’Malley from Tahoe Expedition Academy what he has brought to the classroom “From traveling to Alaska I was inspired to teach students the outdoors. I’ve used my experience not only to get a new job but to teach the students about the outdoors and the different challenges they may face in each area”.

Collect Resources/Artifacts for Your Classroom

Making your classroom a positive learning environment is always on the top of our lists of things to do. Even with all the posters and pictures, it is no substitute for real things. When you collect artifacts for the students to touch, feel and see with their own eyes it allows students to connect on another level. Even pictures you have taken with a story you have experienced will mean a lot to them and you.

Connection to Community

We need to be stewards of our community and teach our students to do so as well. When we travel we make a connection with that local community and can see the issues firsthand. By bringing this back to the classroom we teach pupils to do the same. From issues such as global warming and social injustice, teachers are on the frontline to help students to grow and learn about these issues. When we can give the first-hand knowledge hopefully we can start to bring around change whether it is social or environmental or both.

Be a Role Model for Students and Other Staff

Whether you are teaching in a small town or a large one, some students and other staff may have not even left their hometown for one reason or another. These people may not have the time or the means to do so. When you travel, you can show that a teacher is able to do and can inspire them to do it as well. If you are a certified teacher you can read here about Where can Certified Teachers Find Teaching Jobs Abroad? These sites also have a bunch of jobs for everyone.

Gain New Experience 

When you learn something new you can bring that back to the classroom and share it with your students. This sounds like a no-brainer, but we are in the classroom five days a week and planning most of the year. We often don’t get out and travel as much as we like. Teachers can’t just take off for a few weeks at a time besides the summer, which is not always the case as teachers work other jobs to make ends meet.

Show it Can be Affordable

Teaching is not a profession that is known to make people a lot of money, we are in it for other reasons. Even if you are teaching overseas the odds are you are not rich. You can show and even teach a lesson about how to travel on a budget or ways that traveling can be affordable to your students.

Meet New People and Network

If you are traveling alone you will probably want to make some friends on the way. A lot of friends I have met traveling have become lifelong friends and some have even helped me to land a teaching job. You may even find a new calling and have a career change or meet the love of your life. “I met the love of my life in South Korea, who knew a guy from Chicago would fall in love with a woman from Scotland” Nick Kelly Maths and Science Teacher at Quality Schools International. If you want to Learn How to Travel as a Math Teacher click here.

Improve Your Language Skills

It could be going to Korea town in Philadelphia or actually to Seoul in South Korea, when you travel with intent you could improve your language skills. While it is not always the easiest and most comfortable thing to do practicing and trying to acquire a new language with native speakers will help you to improve your skills.  I live in Taiwan and often get asked about learning Chinese, I wrote about it here and this will apply to most all countires. Do You Need to Speak Chinese to Teach and Live in Taiwan?

Creates an Interest in New Professions/ Hobbies

Maybe this was the break that you needed and teaching is not for you, it isn’t for everyone. Or maybe you can combine teaching with another profession or love. When you travel you find that you are interested in something different like Jennifer Pile of Palm Beach Country School district who said “It is a great way to show students different parts of the world and inspires them to want to travel, volunteer, and to be kind to all people, no matter their background” She also help start the Volunteer Organisation Teachers Go Global. If you are a teacher or know anyone who wants to make a change and bring your experiences back to your community, let them know and click the link above. They are always looking for volunteers to help us make our vision a reality.

Make the World a Better Place

Just being in places other than the one you live in shows that you are open to new experiences and that you want to experience their culture. Travel shows students an appreciation of other cultures. Learning to understand different people and places helps to make the world a better place. Maybe they will want to visit where you are from.

Teachers are Lifelong Learners

Teachers never stop learning and you should show and talk to your students about becoming a student again. If we stop learning and growing, how can we tell our students to do it? We want our students to travel and gain the benefits of travel, click here to read about how students benefit from travel.

Relax and Take a Break

The average teacher only stays in the profession for an average of three to five years. If you do not take a break, you will most likely burn out and leave the profession, and we need teachers more than ever. Why not take your break and get some experience out of it.

Potential Obstacles to Traveling as Teacher

While this is all good in theory, you still may have issues traveling. Here are some things to think about so you can plan ahead and are ready for them. These shouldn’t hold you back and you should go for it.

• Cost- You still are a teacher and still need to budget, look into possible grants or volunteering options to alleviate the costs.
• Language Barriers- Google does well most of the time, you just need a good internet connection.
• SIM card- In the U.S most phones are not unlocked and so when you travel you could have an issue with a new SIM, be sure to check.
• Time Off- It could be hard to choose a time besides the summer, so if you do make sure to count in that time of the year.