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Fort Scott students to learn through experience -- in Rome, Italy
Fort Scott High School English teachers Polly Herman and Gabrielle Studer are not just teaching their students in the classroom; they are taking their students on an adventure that will allow them to experience the information they are learning in class.
In March of 2010, a group of students from FSHS will travel to Italy to embark on a 9-day educational tour of Rome, Tuscany and the Riviera. The tour will be conducted through EF Educational Tours, which has been providing language education, travel and cultural exchange programs to people of all ages for more than 40 years, according to a statement from Herman and Studer.
"Rather than just reading about the Colosseum, Pantheon, Sistine Chapel, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, they (students) are going to experience these literary and historical treasures firsthand, taking their understanding of world literature, history and cultures to a new level," the statement said.
In preparation for the tour, Herman and Studer will be incorporating additional historical and geographical information into their literature units. In addition, the students who are signed up to go on the trip are trying to learn the Italian language before they depart on their trip. According to Herman, there are no classes offered at FSHS that teach the students how to speak Italian. The students who will be going on the trip will have to learn as much of the language as possible on their own.
FSHS sophomore Leah Casselman said in preparation for the trip, she hopes she can master the language of the country.
"(In preparation for the trip) I will preferably learn the language of Italy," Casselman said.
Casselman, who has already visited Canada, Denmark, France, Sweden and Germany, said she is excited to have the opportunity to learn about the Italian culture and the influence it has had on the culture in the United States.
FSHS sophomore Lauren Caulfield, who has previously visited Mexico, said she is looking forward to visiting Italy. In fact, Caulfield said she wishes the trip were taking place sooner than it is.
"(I'm looking forward to) learning the world isn't just Fort Scott," Caulfield said. "I just want to go right now. I don't want to wait."
FSHS junior Chelsea Mitzner said she is looking forward to seeing places she has never seen before.
"I'm excited to see the new features," Mitzner said.
For FSHS students Jordyn Gray and Ashleigh Marquardt, traveling to a country they have never been to before does not frighten them. However, riding on an airplane for such a long period of time does make them feel a little uneasy.
"I'm a little scared of the plane ride," Gray said.
Marquardt added, "I am scared of the water being under us for so long."
Learning Italian and studying geographical information in class are not the only preparations the students must make before the trip, according to FSHS junior Kenda Lee.
"We have to do lots and lots of fundraising," Lee said.
According to Herman, in order to take the trip, the students must pay about $2,500 each. To help generate the money needed, they have been working diligently, conducting various fundraisers.
Currently, the group is collecting electronic devices for recycling in order to raise money. Anyone who has unwanted ink jet cartridges, laptop computers, iPods, digital cameras or digital video cameras may donate them to the group by contacting Herman at pherman@usd234.org, or Studer at gstuder@usd234.org.
Also, anyone who wishes to make a monetary donation for the trip should contact Herman or Studer.
According to the statement, in addition to various fundraisers, some of the students have been working jobs after-school and during the summers in order to help raise the needed money for the trip.
"While students have shown a strong commitment to work summer jobs to raise money, Herman and Studer are confident that the community will support their (students') efforts, considering it as an investment both in our young people and in our future. The trip is no cost to the school district or taxpayers," the statement said.
EF operates hundreds of offices in 51 countries and a staff of more than 3,000 employees and 23,000 teachers, according to the statement.
"...The organization is cast, but the mission remains simple: to break down barriers of language, culture and geography," the statement said.
For more information about EF Educational Tours, visit www.etours.com.