How do you help participants become involved in the area?
Getting involved is a matter of getting out there! The best way to get involved in a new area is to do something--anything, really--where you have a natural reason to interact with locals. For example, I love playing pickup soccer wherever I go. I’m at four continents so far, and I would love to hit all seven! If you are not an athlete, the arts are another great option: attend a dance class, join a drum circle, or do whatever you like to do back at home. It is much easier to build relationships across cultures, languages, and nationalities when there is a common interest to start! In addition, my group will tell you that I am fairly religious about avoiding tourist restaurants--I want to eat where the locals eat, and I will strike up a conversation with anyone to find the best meal. Recently, I learned about a great food truck in Ljubljana, Slovenia from our guide on another activity--and it was one of the best meals of my summer! The rule is to plan carefully, but be prepared for serendipitous diversions, because that’s where the best experiences always happen.
With the hardy Modern Europe participants who made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower
What optional activities do you offer to participants in their free time?
The best way to learn about a new place is by exploring, so my philosophy is to offer plenty of time for guided exploration. In Berlin this past summer, I brought a small group of participants to a chamber music concert near Nollendorfplatz. The concert was part of an anti-violence effort in the community, and though much of the conversation went above my head, the energy of the event, along with the beautiful music, represented a real high point of the trip for several participants. I think this is because it was a taste of everyday life and culture, something that as a tourist, it is easy to miss.
Will is the head coach of his high school’s soccer team, truly a global game--in this photo alone, 10 different nationalities are represented!
Do you have any recommended literature for students?
It is so tough to whittle down the recommended reading list! We are truly in an age of information overload, so I think it is essential for students to be exposed to readings that clue them in to how various historical moments felt to the participants. For example, I love reading the dispatches from American columnist and servicemember Ernie Pyle, who wrote from the front lines of World War Two. In addition, I like to use excerpts from Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz for an honest portrayal of life under fascism. These are compelling narratives that students tend to grasp right away and with which they can form connections readily. Of course, it is difficult to communicate the depressing, savage reality of some episodes in history, but it is essential that we try to grasp these difficult parts most of all. The American author James Baldwin, who writes searingly about his experiences with both racism and homophobia, put it best: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
Outside the Louvre with Modern Europe participants
What is the most fulfilling aspect of your job?
I simply love watching students learn and grow. There are fairly few ‘aha’ moments in a regular classroom, but when we are visiting Omaha Beach and walking in the steps of those brave men of the D-Day invasion, the history almost grabs ahold of you. The look of wonder and recognition that accompanies these sorts of experiences is what makes my job rewarding. Really, I feel lucky to be able to guide students on this type of discovery--travel experiences like these can be truly life-changing! For me, it was interviewing veterans of the Troubles in Belfast when I first began to think seriously about how teaching history might be my calling.
Describe any problems that you face instructing participants, and how you overcome them?
Every group of students is different, but I have found that as long as we as group leaders are good listeners who are open to feedback, participants tend to respond pretty well. When participants get distracted or need a break, as all young people will at times, we try to strike a balance. While no one wants to waste time on a short trip abroad, breaks and debriefs are just as important as museums and memorials. It is a joy to be able to provide instruction to young people who are curious and eager to learn, and to me, that is the best part of experiential learning. In a certain way, it is tough not to learn, because you are confronted with the topic with every breath, every step, and every glance across the horizon. How could one avoid the heavy sadness of the Normandy American Cemetery, the bravado, and pride of the Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe, or the densely-layered conflict represented by the Brandenburg Gate?
