EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
Global Awareness Seminars use Educational Objectives to help guide international experience. These objectives, derived from 21st Century classroom theory, expose students to the types of engaged, hands-on learning critical to success in the new, global lifestyle. Objectives are customized for each seminar. In the case of China, objectives include (but are not limited to) the following:
Service Learning - The ability to communicate across cultures has been singled out as vital for achieving future economic success. Global Awareness: China provides travelers the opportunity to tutor rural Chinese students in English. English skills have been shown to greatly help such Chinese students achieve academics and career success; teaching English can help domestic students better grasp their own language while learning the fundamentals of another.
A Day in the Life - Visiting a nation’s monuments and attractions alone won’t allow a global citizen to truly understand foreign “life.” This seminar identifies secure opportunities to step off the tourist path and immerse travelers in the lives of common Chinese citizens – on the subway, in the marketplace, inside the country’s oldest neighborhoods. These experiences help young learners compare and critically analyze the perceptions and realities of cultural differences between East and West.
Environmental Stewardship - Many experts predict one of the 21st Century’s greatest challenges will be the environment. Water, essential to life, is becoming one of our planet’s scarcest resources. Through a tour of the Dujiangyan Irrigation system, one of the world’s oldest, travelers will cast an engineer’s eye on the challenges and processes involved in the production of safe drinking water and wetland protection. This experience grants a new appreciation for the need to share scarce resources responsibly.
Cultural Understanding - In-the-field instruction on Chinese culture, including site visits and hands-on activities, bring China to life. Activities include a participatory Chinese cooking class in Shanghai, a morning Tai-Chi lesson presented by a master in a local Beijing park, a session of dumpling making in a private home, and the opportunity to practice Chinese art and dance with locals. In addition, our professional guides will provide expert insight on Chinese customs, language, and values.
Citizen Exchange - In Western countries, sports fill the hours between school. In China, host champions of the 2008 Summer Games, sports are school. Through a visit with the chosen athletes of one of the country’s sports academies, travelers will have the chance to speak one-on-one with global friends living a very different “academic” life. Returning home, these new friendships will continue to grow and instruct across a lifetime.