Journey to Japan a Learning Experience for Teens

There’s value in traveling and global education, especially when it’s not tied to any particular school or district.

That’s why West Morris Central English teacher Natalie Vazquez is embarking on a journey – with 10 students in tow – to the other side of the world for two weeks this summer.

When Vazquez started teaching at Central a few years ago, she was tasked with instructing mostly freshman, she said. It was their passion for learning that gave her the idea to go abroad.

“I was inspired by the kids’ passion and interest in subjects like mythology,” Vazquez said. “So one day, I mentioned flippantly, how cool would it be to see these things we were reading about in person?”

It was at that point Vazquez began looking around, and found Education First Tours, a travel company that organizes and books trips abroad for students. The well-known company offers coordinating assistance to nine different locations, Vazquez said, and sets up tour guides and transportation for visiting students.

So Vazquez dove deep into the process, and ended up being one of a handful of chaperones to accompany 50 interested students on a weeklong trip to Greece.

“The experience with teachers and students is totally different,” Vazquez said about the camaraderie on the trip. “We’ve gone on trips where we’re paired with groups from Chicago, San Francisco, Texas – it’s a great experience and everyone enjoys it.”

The trips are in no way connected with the school or regional district, however, Vazquez said.

While that cuts a lot of red tape and allows students and chaperones to go by their own guidelines, it also means the financial burden for the trip is encumbered by the travelers and their families.

From late June to mid-July, this year’s group of world travelers – one sophomore, one senior, and eight juniors – will be touring the Land of the Rising Sun: Japan.

It’s the longest trip in duration Vazquez has put together, but finding the time to truly enjoy all Japan has to offer was paramount, the teacher said.

“We’re not going to Japan to party,” Vazquez said. “It is kind of a hard sell to families because of the cost, but the students who go on this trip and the families that pay for it are the ones that truly see the value in global learning.”

The students put together one fundraiser, a car wash, to raise cash for tips and gifts for their tour guides and bus drivers while they’re abroad, Vazquez said.

“It takes a special kind of student to want to put away their summer break for two weeks of learning in Japan,” Vazquez said. “I think this is going to be pretty incredible.”