An article looking at how a school trip may provide the inspiration a student needs to establish their ambitions and dreams for the future.

When I look back to my school days, I remember getting bored very easily. I am sure I was more familiar with the surroundings outside my classroom window than I was with the subject I was being taught.

With woes of high tuition fees, changing exam marks and high unemployment for the young, today’s students aren’t starting their working careers in an easy place. School tours can often provide a safe and secure environment for a student to further educate themselves in their favourite subject. Be it art, drama or music, there are destinations across the world that might just light a spark in a student’s head that will ignite their dreams for the future. Schools are realising that away from the classroom there is much to learn.

Arts based subjects
School tours such as visiting a theatre in Vienna or a concert hall in Rome may be just the ticket for those students who love music. Perhaps seeing a pianist perform for the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra will inspire a student to study further in their piano exams. After all, a new pianist will be required in future years to carry on the music traditions and why shouldn’t that future pianist be the student who is sat in the hall listening, currently deciding whether to go further with their piano exams?

Languages
Visiting a street market in Barcelona and asking for some fruit or a loaf of bread will give a Spanish language student so much more practical experience of the real world than any book will ever do. Students can listen to a variety of accents and truly immerse themselves in a different culture if they are brave enough to try speaking the language they are learning for real. Students can gain confidence in practicing their language and will begin to understand that the more you are seen to be trying, then the locals will quite often embrace you and thank you for making the effort.

How about ordering a pizza in Rome, or some frogs legs in France? Whichever language the student is learning, the beauty of Europe is that the native speakers are never too far away to visit. The richness and diversity a student will engage in during a visit to a foreign country will be far more beneficial than just practicing the language in the classroom. Confidence is often built for the student as they come to terms with a different culture and different methods of doing things, that are quite often not thought about at home.

Classics & History
A trip to Greece and the city of Athens will struggle not to motivate even the most reluctant of history students. Whether the student visits the Acropolis or the Parthenon, to see these sites for real and not just in photos is far more emotive and inspirational for a student. By visiting the sites, they are creating their own personal history and the trip will often provide many memories and experiences that will shape a student throughout their adult life.

AUTHOR BIO
Written by Idania Silvia, a freelance writer who believes school tours can shape a student’s life.