Like each of you who traveled with us during the tour, this morning I'm working to comprehend my experience while at the same time struggling to acclimate and integrate back into what is typical for my life. The tension I'm working to manage is framed around hitting a re-start button on life while simultaneously reflecting on the significance of the last eleven days on my life. The elation from sleeping in my own bed and being warmly greeted by our pets is co-mingled with the mild reality shock that comes with reducing the mountain on laundry and a trip to the grocery store for essentials.
Part of my reflective process includes working to measure the success of the tour, and, reaffirming personally and professionally why we invest into group travel experiences for students. With your indulgence, I'll share two brief thoughts related to each of these strands of thought.
I believe to the core of my being that group travel provides a singularly unique vehicle for individual student growth. The experiences gained and the countless autonomous decisions made by each student during this recent tour simply can't be garnered in any other way of which I'm aware. The growth for each student that has happened through expanding the boundaries of the classroom into homes in a small community in Germany is too complex to be measured in a quantifiable manner. I also know from personal experience that the growth that has happened will take place over the next season of life as each student strives to ascribe personal meaning to this experience. So, we do this travel thing because group travel sparks growth in students like nothing else I have experienced in education. Parents - take notice of the differences in your student in the coming days and celebrate the change that has occurred and will continue to occur.
I'm also compelled to share two measures of success from the tour. Yesterday, I received multiple comments from airport workers in several cities about the maturity and professionalism of our students. The first comment was from a chronologically advanced worker during a security check point in Frankfort. The exchange went something like this: WORKER: Are you one of the teachers? ME: (partly wary) Yes. WORKER: They aren't like other student groups. This is one of the best behaved groups I have seen come through this airport. ME: (whew) Thanks - we are really proud of the students in this group. The last exchange came at the end of a very long day, when the only worker at the baggage claim downstairs at Aer Lingus thanked me for our students being so nice. This was after going through a reclamation process because several bags were delayed in transit from Europe. At the ending of a over 30 hour travel day, our students were nice when dealing with delayed luggage arrival. Those comments (along with several others not shared here) are a significant measure of success of the tour.
The second measure of success came from unsolicited comments from people I've never met about the jazz band performance during our final evening. Folks didn't tell me the band sounded good. Folks didn't tell me the band felt good. Folks told me the band looked like they were having a great time. When this is perceptible to patrons, it means that communication beyond organized sound occurred during our performance. Through their actions, the students shared with and communicated to the audience their joy for performing jazz music. Again, those comments to me are a significant measure of the success of the tour.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't share a significant public shout out to Mr. Teague for his role in creating and implementing this experience for our students. Mr. Teague does many things well, but, he is unsurpassed a group tour leader and as a communicator of those experiences back home to families. Mr. Teague manages details with elegance and demonstrates grace under extreme pressure, especially to individual students along the way. On behalf of the students, staff and families on both sides of the pond who benefitted and will continue to benefit from this experience, I thank you for all that you did to make this experience possible. Danke.
