The Benefits of Travel

I attribute a lot of sayings to my Dad when in reality he was borrowing them from someone else. One of his favorite sayings is often credited to one of his favorite authors, Mark Twain (when in reality, I believe it was coined by Grant Allen). Regardless of who said it first, to me it was said by my Dad and reads, “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education”. There’s so much more that plays into a person’s education than what goes on at school. As you parents know, life is an excellent teacher of many lessons. Another great way in which many lessons can be taught is through travel. My older daughter took a gap year between high school and college and said that she learned more in that year alone than she did in school. She became scuba certified, became certified as a wilderness first responder, learned how to surf, learned how to camp and cook outdoors and so much more. I am grateful that she had this experience!

One of the great things that Oakhill offers is the chance to go on experiential learning trips. If you are able to send your child, these are a great opportunity for your child to learn things that they wouldn’t learn in the classroom. If your child hasn’t spent much time away from home, this is a great way for them to be away from home, while still being with friends and teachers who know them well. They learn how to entertain themselves on a long bus or car ride without a phone or other device. They learn how to pack, how to order from a restaurant, how to speak up for themselves if something is wrong and how to get along with a roommate. They learn manners when staying in a hotel and a shared space, they learn how to test themselves by trying something new, they learn to budget and not spend all of their money at the first souvenir stop. In addition, they might just learn a little bit about the history of where they are visiting. They will arrive home with all of this new knowledge but they will also arrive home with so many great memories. 

Experiential trips begin in the 5th grade, where students spend one night away from home. In 6th grade, they are away for two nights. In 7th and 8th grade, the trips are four nights long. These are planned purposefully so that they build on the time and distance traveled as the students grow and mature and are able to be away from home for longer periods of time. 

I often joke that the only thing I collect is memories, but in all seriousness, when all is said and done, the memories are what remain. Experiential trips and travel in general are a great way to make some amazing memories to last a lifetime.