In May, Yew Chung International School of Beijing students will be embarking on their annual World Classroom trips. For our Secondary School students, these trips serve not just as fun-filled trips to exotic locations with their classmates, but also as an opportunity for our students to interact with another culture, enhancing the global citizenship key to every international school education. 

Katherine Sands, Head of Science and the World Classroom Organizer, spoke with us about how these trips enhance student learning:

The World Classroom is a valuable chance for students to experience another country and further hone the soft skills necessary to be a respectful and thoughtful global citizen.

Students this year have the opportunity to visit Barcelona, Berlin, Prague, and Washington D.C., dependent on year level. Around two months in advance of their respective trips, students go over very comprehensive handbooks with their programme leaders. These vary according to trip; for instance, in the group I led to Montana and Wyoming in the US last year, we aligned the wildlife and natural elements we would see while there with a science unit in adaptations. Students going to Barcelona are currently taking Spanish classes in order to more deeply engage with the local students with whom they will be interacting.

World Classroom trips are also a great way to expand on the character traits we emphasize so extensively in Secondary School here at the Yew Chung International School of Beijing, such as global citizenship, open-mindedness, and responsibility, focusing on ensuring students know how to act respectfully and responsibly when guests in a foreign country without their parents to supervise them.

Students are also able to further hone their “soft skills” through a different medium, including communication and creativity; every trip features a creative element like cooking or dancing that lets them experience the culture more deeply. They also reflect on their experiences on a daily basis, keeping journals throughout the trip whose entries they then use in their post-trip summary.

Learn more about our students’ experiences in Argentina and Brazil by checking out this comprehensive recap.