Travel-A Form of Education

My English teacher at St Saviours on Old Kent Road in London (Mrs. Leach) used to always say to me: "There is nothing like a well traveled young person!" She believed in me. She made me take my English GCSE 1 year early (High School diploma equivalent) which was a year early for my class but 2 years early for my age, 14 at the time. I passed!

As I talk about in my book The Only Way is Up, global travel is part of education and growth as a person. I know several people who get it. Frank Ski took the boys and girls of the Frank Ski Kids Foundation to the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon and Italy in the last few years. These kids' lives never remained the same.

The Frank and Wanda Morning Show have gone to South Africa, China, Mexico and Dubai with the adults on their Winter trip also over the last 4 years.

As shown on CNN last year, Mallak Compton-Rock, Chris Rock's wife has taken the kids from the Bushwick Salvation Army Community Center in Brooklyn under her wings. She has not only taken them to dinners, movies and college tours but she has traveled with these kids to South Africa, New Orleans and DC. Some of these kids have gone from feeling sorry for themselves and their lives in the projects to being thankful they have a school to go to, unlike some of the kids they saw during their travels. You could tell a child these stories all day long and they would not get it quite the same but when you see it, the impact is different.

It was easy to see what Principal Steve Perry was doing with the kids in Hartford Connecticut when both stories were featured in Black in America 2. We get conventional education. And while everyone applauded the principal for his efforts and many felt Mallak's effort were minuscule at best in comparism, I held a different view because travel is extremely important as well. She focused on non-conventional education but nonetheless, necessary in addition to structured learning in school.  I thought they both did a phenomenal job and both approaches were necessary.

Why not just send them to Disney and be done? Because these people get it! If you don't get it, I challenge you to try it with your kids. It sends a strong positive non-verbal motivational message that gets kids fired up to work hard at school and succeed in life. This approach makes them grow up. It makes them stop taking for granted and appreciating instead. They go from being mediocre to wanting to excel. I challenge you to try it...

What are your thoughts on this issue? Please leave a comment. Thank you.

Folake.