I had a meeting with a parent today. She had emailed me and told me she wanted to visit with me about an “opportunity” her child had and wanted to talk with me. I assumed (wrongly) that this included me doing something I didn’t have time to do. I was wrong.
She told me her family had won a trip to Europe and she wanted to take her child and did I think it would be okay for him to miss two weeks of school in order to go. I said, “Are you kidding, YES”! He can sit in my classroom reading about history, or go and see history. This is a no brainer in mind. Old Europe, places like: Munich, Prague, Vienna and Zurick. Heck if he can’t go I will.
It got me to thinking that sometimes we get our priorities out of whack in education. How many times will this young student and their mother get a chance to do something so great together? And to go to such a place that is history. Their trip will also include a trip to Auschwitz in Poland. I have been there and that in itself is worth the trip. So I say to you parents and educators: education doesn’t always happen in the classroom, sometimes in never does, but the best education is that we experience.
Oh yeah, and then I had another meeting, which, of course, is the most important part of education. Let me remove my tongue from my cheek. Until tomorrow, peace.