The best education is seeing the world. As a family, or when we get older, travelling yields so many benefits. And while you have memories that last forever, from an educational perspective, what are the benefits of seeing the world?
It Increases Compassion
Giving your children a widespread view of the world exposes them to a number of different perks and problems associated with other lifestyles. One of the biggest benefits of travelling is that it gives us a unique sense of perspective, where we start to appreciate what we have or realise that we need to do more to help others. This is one of the main reasons people are applying to medical school in the modern-day. Seeing people on the frontline dealing with the pandemic has inspired many to apply for medical roles. And travelling increases compassion in so many ways, it makes you truly understand what you have to do to make this world a better place.
It Toughens You Up
Seeing different parts of the world and experiencing stress associated with travel is a wonderful way for you to fly by the seat of your pants. When you start travelling away from your worldly comforts, it helps you to make the most of what you’ve got, but it also increases your confidence when you venture out into other parts of the world. This confidence is something that is not easily achieved in a home environment. When we venture to other countries, we automatically go out of our comfort zone and expose ourselves to things that we wouldn’t normally do. Whether this is a country that doesn’t speak the same language or the problems associated with crime in that area, there’s a lot of situational awareness to be developed. And for our children developing that situational awareness, in conjunction with problem-solving skills becomes an invaluable way to improve resilience.
It Improves Communication Skills
Travelling is not just about experiencing the differences of another culture, but it demands that you sink or swim in them. Something as simple as asking for directions can be a very overwhelming practice, especially when it’s in another language. There are so many barriers to communication that we have to figure out other ways to put ourselves across. And this is a very wonderful lesson for children to learn because they need to develop their abilities to communicate in the right ways. And it makes us realise that communication is not just about what we say, but it’s the complete package: how we say it, the inflections in our voice, but also how we look when we are saying it. When we start to overcome communication problems, this doesn’t just set it up for a far better array of skills in life, but it provides us with the tools we need to communicate in different ways with all sorts of people and teaches us to read a situation.
It Improves Academic Performance
Travel can improve performance as it is an investment in experiencing different cultures. It is a perfect way for people to experience different lessons in life by applying knowledge to real-world situations. The child who is not well travelled will only have a handful of tools to learn, perhaps a textbook or a teacher that is not necessarily good at the job. When we are helping our children to develop good study skills, it’s about applying themselves through focus and attention. And if we start to teach our children valuable lessons in life at a young age, but also how to learn these lessons effectively, this will encourage increases in knowledge, therefore improving their academic abilities. Many children don’t get on board with the academic way of thinking because it was something that they just didn’t get. Exposing your children to a wider variety of cultures and approaches at a young age can help them to find the best method to learning in a manner that suits them. Travel encourages a healthy and intelligent understanding of the need to make a living to be able to support your chosen lifestyle financially.
It Fosters Individuality
It’s not just the life lessons of travel that our children can benefit from. Travel allows everyone to define themselves in the larger context of the world. When people are discovering new locations, it’s also an opportunity to discover themselves. We are taking our children out of everything they know, which means that they do not necessarily have to conform to the type that they think they are. When we take our children away from the typical social constructs, especially in regards to the classroom environment, it allows them to spread their wings, and try out new approaches. This is a very beneficial practice because it allows everybody to try out a new personality for size. But as parents, it is important for us to nurture this when we return home. Many children come out of themselves when they go away from everything they know, but soon find that they retreat into their shells. It is about making sure that we solidify the lessons they learnt while being on holiday, and bringing them back home with a renewed sense of enthusiasm.
The Importance of Perspective
Our children will experience many pressures throughout their school lives, from childish name-calling to acne, and taking our children on holiday to witness less fortunate individuals, and understand how good we have it, which is crucial to fostering that internal strength. Those who bully our children and make their lives miserable is painful for us to witness as parents, and a combination of smarts and perspective is the key to helping your children stand up for themselves. If we can help our children realise that these problems amount to nothing in comparison to what other people the same age are experiencing on the other side of the world this could be a turning point.
Seeing the world is the best education for our children. And whether you want to help them choose a career that suits them better, improve their academic skills or just give them a renewed sense of perspective, there is no better classroom than the big, wide world.
