Teaching Beyond the Classroom
I recently had the pleasure of reuniting with my Junior High English teacher, Mrs. Smithburn. While I am sure she taught me the finer points of grammar and introduced me to various forms of classical literature, what I remember most about Mrs. Smithburn is the adventure she took me on in Europe.
Previously, I wrote about my trip to Switzerland, Austria, and Germany back in the late 80’s, and Mrs. Smithburn was my fearless tour guide.
That trip was over 30 years ago, but I still hold on to precious memories of my first overseas adventure, and I have Mrs. Smithburn to thank for that.
Sitting with Mrs. Smithburn in her home just a few weeks ago, I was able to ask her about some of her travel experiences and what it was like to lead students across Europe.
Even though I am now in my mid 40’s, this well-read and well-traveled teacher is still Mrs. Smithburn to me. But at her request I will do my best to call her Sue!
Traveling with Students
Mrs. Smithburn….er, I mean, Sue…spent 38 years teaching, 29 of those years in Speedway, Indiana, where I was a proud Speedway Sparkplug. As a teacher, she liked to have a lot of fun in her classroom, and she really enjoyed her students.
“If I’m bored, then the kids would be bored!”
Aside from literature, travel has long been one of Sue’s passions.
She admits that her initial inspiration to lead student trips was so she herself could afford to do more traveling. Sue knew if she worked to arrange these trips then she could afford to go to Europe each summer. In the end, she had fun and her students got to go on amazing trips that expanded their horizons. They got to see other ways to do things than just what they were exposed to in their middle-class suburban town.
Sue took a total of 9 overseas trips with her students, plus 2 trips with Culver Academy where a friend of hers was a teacher.
These trips spanned the 80’s and 90’s, and she led a trip almost every year. She recalls bailing just one year when there was trouble going on in Italy.
Sue’s groups ranged from 5 up to 24 students, plus some parents. Sometimes the travel company would combine her group with a group from another state. No matter where the other students came from, Sue felt they were always well informed and well behaved. All the students got a kick out of interacting with each other and how even as Americans they often pronounced things differently!
Behind the Scenes
All of Sue’s trips with students were arranged through Cultural Heritage Alliance out of Philadelphia. She remarked that the company was always reliable, the prices were reasonable, and they provided very good tour guides.
Sue got to pick the European destinations each year, considering where she would like to go and where her students hadn’t been yet. Then the company took care of all the planning.
Sue’s role was to let people know about the trip. Once students were signed on for an upcoming trip, she would hold meetings so they could all learn about their destinations. During these meetings they would even cook food typical of the countries they would be visiting. The meetings also served as an opportunity for the group to coalesce before their journey even began.
After each trip, Sue would host a party for everyone where they would bring their pictures, and all the travelers would reminisce about their European adventure. This was long before the era of digital cameras, so photo albums were passed around as memorable stories were recalled.
Sue’s trips with students included visits to England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy (twice), Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland (twice), and Greece. Each trip generally included 2-3 countries and spanned a few different cities in each.
Her favorite place to take students? Italy and France. But looking back, she feels all the destinations were valuable for different reasons.
On each trip, her group traveled from city to city on large, comfortable buses with a well-informed tour guide. Sue did recall one rather nasty bus in Greece, but remembered the people were very interesting!
While these were not student trips, she also laughed recalling the time she was traveling in China and the bus broke down, and another incident in Egypt when the bus she was on hit a woman! She noted that laws differ dramatically in other countries, especially when it comes to the rules of the road!
Risks and Rewards
Sue’s favorite part of taking student groups to Europe was seeing their reactions to new things. She found that kids were much more accepting of new ideas and new ways of doing things, whereas adults would find these other ways of doing things to be strange and questioned them more. Teens tend to be more open to things and are impressionable. She knew they would benefit from traveling in their youth and seeing more of the world.
She always found it interesting to see what the students took pictures of, which were often quite different than the pictures the adults took! This was long before the days of selfies, but her teens loved to snap photos of fancy European sports cars. I have a photo I took of a European rock group that we spotted on our trip!
The most challenging part of leading student trips for Sue was having to constantly watch the students. She always instructed students to carry their passports and diligently watch their stuff. When they got a bit of free time to explore an area, Sue did not disperse the group until seeing that everyone had their passport and the name of the hotel, just in case. (Remember, this was long before the days of cell phones!)
Once, one of her more absentminded students did manage to get lost. After that, her husband, Jeff, followed that student very closely! That same student, who went on more than one of Sue’s trips, left his camera somewhere and even manage to drop his passport over a cliff at Windsor Castle!
Typically, their tour guide would be off from 5-10pm. During this time Sue had to plan the activities herself to keep everyone busy. Ultimately, Sue had a lot of faith in her students. And between Sue and her husband and the other parent chaperones, they always kept a watchful eye on the students, while still having fun.
Sue also spent a lot of time double checking the itinerary with the tour company to ensure her students had a great experience and saw the most important sights.
She recalls going to bat for her students on one trip to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Here she learned the difference between seeing something and visiting it. Apparently, if the itinerary indicated they would be seeing a sight that only included a view from the outside. She was adamant that her students needed to tour this legendary castle, not just gaze at it from outside, so she quickly used her skills of persuasion and made it happen.
She never made the incorrect assumption about seeing vs. visiting an important landmark again!
Her Own Travels
While Sue is now retired and no longer leads student tours, her love for travel remains, as does her love for learning and teaching.
While on a trip to Poland, she learned the history of some incredible tapestries that were protected from the German invasion. After returning home she continued to study the arduous path around the globe that these tapestries took over several decades in order to be protected and preserved.
She turned her passion for the journey of the tapestries into another trip to Poland by writing and being awarded a grant from Lilly. She studied the timeline and people associated with the safeguarding of the tapestries and now shares her knowledge through presentations for art and history groups.
On one trip to Poland she met a 12-year-old girl from Krakow on the train, and a long-term friendship developed. That young girl is now an actress, and 10 years after they met, Sue was invited to her wedding. You could say Sue has a gift for making friends all over the world!
When I inquired about Sue’s favorite travel souvenir, she was quick to show me a prized possession she was given in 2017 on a remarkable trip to Alaska.
She was following a childhood dream of retracing the steps of medical missionaries in Barrow (who served there from 1920-1937). I won’t even try to repeat the eloquent recap she gave about her eventful journey through Alaska. Only she can properly recall the historical background and recite her in-depth knowledge of the area she visited, which led to an extended encounter with a minister and the head of the North Slope administrators.
This once-in-a-lifetime encounter included Sue being given a one-of-a-kind fossilized whale vertebra. Which she proudly displays in her living room!
Next Up
Retired now, Sue has no plans to slow down.
In addition to traveling Sue enjoys attending and volunteering with the local symphony, spending time with her husband, and visiting their adult children.
When asked about her Travel Bucket List, one experience Sue still hopes to make happen is a paddle boat trip down the Mississippi River. Or she may even buy a pontoon boat and do it herself! She also wants to return to Poland.
The benefits of travel for Sue include an expanded way of thinking, the opportunity to meet wonderful people, getting to learn new customs, enjoying different food, music, and art, and trying to understand how others think and their politics.
Sue does offer some advice for other adults who want to take students on trips or even just travel with their own children/teens.
• Investigate the travel company really well.
• Take reliable students.
• Plan well, and double check everything.
I am grateful for Sue’s fearless leadership that first led me to Europe and ultimately sparked the seed for Traveling Tanya.
I am not sure I’m ready to take a big group of hormonal teenage students overseas, but I will definitely be passing my love of travel on to my own children! And I will strongly encourage them to take advantage of any opportunity to travel with a teacher who is brave enough to lead the way.
Did you take a memorable trip as a student? Comment below to share the details of your adventure…and thank your brave teacher!
Wherever the road takes you, make it a joyous journey,
Traveling Tanya
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