culturefox

Education travel is NOT sightseeing, here’s why!

‘’Travel is the best education I’ve ever had.’’

This statement has become a testimony to our post-modern culture and probably overused to such an extent that certain places have reduced their intake of tourists due to environmental reasons. I would still say that it stands true in the face of the breadcrumb trail laid out by institutions with a fixed curriculum.
Travel is inspirational and has different effects on people. It is widely known as a space to get out of your comfort zone (home) and meet like-minded people (other travellers) for proper cultural immersion (indulge with locals). It is a verb and a noun framed, filtered and shaken more than your polaroid.
Lost civilisations aren’t measured as much by their rulers as they are by the art and culture heritage it leaves behind. Education travel goes beyond traversing the cobbled-streets of a quaint European village or the busy lanes of old Delhi – it is when you start exploring diversity in cultures via communication, begin embracing ambiguity and paradox in the art, and the history encrypted in the architecture that turns you into a creative storyteller.
Even though we are a generation of loose millennials different from the likes of Battuta or Columbus, we still share the same sense of curiosity and crave for communication.

Here’s what education travel does teach you;

Break educational stereotypes –

At a very young age, we are weighed down by the fetters of expectations. From what religion to follow and what political party to support to what course we should opt for in a school, education varies from culture to culture. Travelling for many can be a life-altering experience, which affects your nature both viscerally and intellectually but education travel turns you into an active participant. Being an active and culturally sound participant will help eradicate academic biases.

Experiential learning and inclusivity –

Back in 1989, the world wide web gave new meaning to the term ‘inclusivity’. It made information easily accessible to everyone, but it also took people away from regular human interaction. In an attempt to create a fantastic academic ecosystem where students can have access to any amount of information, we overlooked the art of discourse and mediation. Mediation should be our new roadmap and compass to a successful lifestyle for global connections.

Embrace creativity through mediation –

With inclusivity comes perspective. Despite several blandishments of a classic travel brochure, it somehow fails to deliver a sense of belonging. Education travel heightens our need to mediate – from mediating at an art museum and understanding how that artist has shaped a cultural movement to mediating as an active participant at workshops organised by professionals, mediation turns you into a true cultural player.

Calculate the weight of your decisions –

Culture is the paperweight that holds reams of knowledge together inscribed with art, architecture, cultural etiquette and aesthetics. Students who grow up with people from different nationalities respond better to tough situations as they understand the cultural backgrounds. Stoicism and resilience are as relevant to the art world as it is to travel. This uncanny connection compelled millennials to travel, hence turning travel itself into an art form.

Interested?