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With today's technology, anyone can get away to far off destinations without even leaving their home. With a click of a mouse, we are transported to far off places and get a sense of what the destination has in store for us we we choose to visit it some day. Of course, it's not the same as being there but it's a start.
With that said, so many of our kids are lacking the experience of what it means to actually travel and meet different people and see what beautiful cultures there are in this world. Actually, international exposure is just the beginning. Even exposure to different states right here in the U.S. is being neglected by our youth. When I recently mentioned to one of my middle-schoolers that I was traveling to Minnesota, he promptly asked if I had a passport and if they spoke English at this far away destination. Are we not teaching geography anymore? At the very least U.S. geography!
As I've mentioned, I was in Minnesota with my family. Despite the chuckles I received from my colleagues (they couldn't understand why I would travel to the state of 10,00 lakes during the month of February), my wife and I decided that visiting Minnesota would be a good experience for my two kids. The flight alone was exciting for my kids and landing in a different state was enough for them as well. Just finding out that the Mississippi River starts in this pasrt of the country was beyond comprehension for my kids. They could not believe that this mighty river stretches all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico some 2,552 miles away! Or that the hotel that we were staying at was over 100 years old and its still functioning. Or that Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts was a St. Paul native. Or that Gordon Parks, Poet, Photographer, Movie Director, was from Minnesota. Canada? Just north of Minnesota which by the way was a nice segue into a discussion about borders, passports and how big Canada actually is. Geography lesson? Yeah, sure!
Many complain that our kids today are missing out on simple current events and simple information about each other. So many times our kids are missing out on other cultures as well as good old American cultures, traditions and beliefs. If you want to understand what makes Americans tick, travel the country. If you want to understand what makes the World tick, travel it and travel it with your kids. As history has taught us, so many wars have been started simply because of misunderstandings. If we understand our fellow man, we tend to have more tolerance. How do you accomplish it with todays youth? Expose them to the rest of the world, the U.S. included. I don't care if it's as close as traveling from New York to Southern New Jersey; it's still a trip to another part of America.
As I write this, I recall that one person who when told that my family and I were going to Minnesota she remarked "I don't think I would waste my miles and or points to Minnesota" I say it beats staying at home and seeing the same old things I see everyday in my little town!
So, come on out and see the states! Go on! take your kids to a different part of the world and let them see how diverse the planet is! It'll make them and this world a whole lot better some day!
