Traveling With Student Groups: Tips for Teacher Leaders

By Debra S. Pylypiw, Ed.D.

A teacher experienced in leading student groups abroad and domestically provides tips and guidance on successful student trips. Information is provided on planning, recruiting, advertising, and trip management.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781387089314

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Traveling With Student Groups: Tips for Teacher Leaders

Traveling With Student Groups: Tips for Teacher Leaders

Copyright © 2017 by Debra S. Pylypiw, Ed.D.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2017

ISBN 978-1-387-08931-4

P. O. Box 1821

Swansboro, North Carolina 28584

Introduction

As a beginning group leader taking American students to Europe for the first few times, I searched for quality information to effectively prepare myself and my students for the experience. While my tour company provided some information, much of it was often idealistic and designed to sell trips and did not truly prepare students or leaders for the practicalities of travel. Over the years, I gleaned information from many sources and developed my own information based on my experiences. I have come to realize that this type of information would be valuable for many others, as well. Information and experiences change over time, however, so use this information with that in mind. When I first began traveling to Europe with students in 1999, there was no Euro currency yet, ATMs had yet to be invented, cell phones were rare even in the US, email was just coming into mainstream use, and digital cameras were not in use. We had to change money in every country while struggling to understand each new currency. A stop off of the bus led to a search for a Cambio/Change to cash in travelers checks. Every evening when we would get back to the hotel, the line for the pay phones would begin, as each student tried to maneuver the intricacies of the foreign phones and phone card systems. When email became more prevalent, we all kept our eyes pealed for the nearest internet café. Those with cameras were constantly in need of more film to take pictures of unknown quality and later to deal with whether the undeveloped film belonged in your carry-on or your checked bags. Later, with small digital storage, we were purchasing additional SD cards.

Travel has become easier over time in many ways. While there