Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1035650
journalism teacher at Ernest Lawrence Highly Gifted Magnet Middle School in Los Angeles, loves the thrill of seeing stu- dents experience what they have studied. When he taught high school in his dis- trict, he chaperoned trips to China, New Zealand and Europe. He took his middle schoolers to New York this summer with a tour company called Explorica, visiting the United Nations, 911 Memorial and Harlem Museum – with a backstage visit after a Wicked performance. "Being a chaperone is wonderful," says the United Teachers Los Angeles mem- ber. "But it's a big responsibility. I always remind myself I am taking care of some- body's baby. I'm lucky ; so far, everything has gone smoothly." W h e n s t u d e n t s t r av e l w i t h L a r r y Hooper to Europe each year, they prac- tice their German and French, which he teaches at Los Alamitos High School. " We h a v e g o n e t o Fr a n c e , S p a i n , England, Holland, Italy, Germany and Austria. We use an outside company to coordinate the trip (A la Carte Travel). We took 22 students last year but have taken as many as 51. It's so much fun see- ing students discover the world." Ho o p e r i n c o r p o ra t e s e d u c a t i o n a l excursions, like museums (Pergamon a n d E a st Ge r m a n Spy Mu s e u m) a n d Dachau Concentration Camp, but also p l a n s f u n o u t i n g s su c h a s s a lt m i n e slides, bike tours, soccer arena visits and attending an Austrian show with slap dancing and yodeling. "For me, the biggest challenge is keep- ing up with the kids. We go nonstop." But it's not all sightseeing and fun, c o m m e n t s L e e s a R a n k i n s , a d r a m a teacher at Riverside Poly High School. She has encountered other types of drama on trips to London and New York, where stu- dents saw Broadway musicals, attended theater workshops with professionals and took backstage tours. "Sometimes you have kids breaking curfew or sneaking out of their rooms," say s th e Riversi d e City Teach ers Association member. She puts tape " Taking kids to see history and a different way of life helps them understand the world." — Karen Latham, Burlingame Teachers Association 21 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 018 Colleen Taylor (far left) and Big Valley Junior/Senior High School students visit with Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle at the State Capitol. Kelly Davis, a Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Faculty Association member, in New York in spring 2017.