The Art of Traveling with Teachers

Don't let the title make you think I've mastered the art of traveling with teachers--if anything, I'm learning something new every day...

1. Teachers can be just as resistant to learning as teenagers, if not more so. However, this group has been amazing, from the first "Have you ever..." game to the invisible energy ball we passed with great bravado.

2. Teachers get just as panicked over language barriers and talking to strangers as students. But just like students, they know how to push through the fear and find a way to connect. Even knowing that I was using backward design by sending them on a scavenger hunt their first day in the community, they still gave me plenty of crap about it--and then navigated the experience beautifully and came back with the need to know more, just as I'd hoped.

3. Teachers have the same variety of quirks and needs that teenagers do. They need pit stops, down time, reassurance and a little push once in a while. I am playing the nurturer, the encyclopedia, the Spanish/English dictionary and the challenger, just as I have on every student trip I've led. Not only are the teachers letting me do all this--they're embracing it.

4. This work matters at least as much as traveling with students. When I really think about it, this is why I left the classroom after 19 years with teenagers--to inspire adults to in turn inspire students to find their place in the world. I feel honored to be a part of this group, of this trip and experience. And I have no doubt that these teachers will find new and innovative ways to bring the world into their classrooms.

Jennifer