Dharmaraj, now 15 and a sophomore, said that navigating
the city with his friends and learning about the culture also
gave him a taste of independence at a younger age. “Being
able to find our way, manage our transactions and meet the
curfews—those kinds of things taught me responsibility and
independence in a different way than I’d learn them in my
normal life.”
Once more commonly offered to college and grad students,
global study and service learning trips—with projects like
helping endangered species and building local schools—have
now become an important part of the educational offerings at
many local private schools. In the Bay Area, kids from elementary
to high school are setting out to explore the world, and
discover who they are in the process.
The duration of most trips is about 10 days, with typical
costs ranging from about $2,000 to $3,000. Destinations
range from South America to Asia to Europe and Africa. There
is often a direct link between the school’s curriculum and the
travel experience.
For Dharmaraj, the Greece-Italy trip wasn’t his first overseas
adventure. In the sixth grade, he did a student exchange program
in Japan, where he stayed with a host family and learned
about the culture and day-to-day life there. The following
year, he participated in a similar program in China. Dharmaraj
recalls that before his first trip, he was a little unsure about the
experience, and would have preferred to have been accompanied
by a friend. However, when he got there, he was pleasantly
surprised to find that he felt right at home.
“I thought it would be more rigid, and didn’t realize everyone
would be so welcoming and friendly,” he said. “It was
really an amazing experience to be part of the household, and
to be so comfortable as part of the family unit.”
In addition to trips that Dharmaraj has taken, Harker offers
other trips at the middle school and high school levels
The Harker School
student, Nikhil Dharmaraj
on the 2015
Spring Break trip to
Italy and Greece.
to places like Australia, Costa Rica, Switzerland,
India, the Galapagos and Kazakhstan. The trip
itineraries often complement the students’ studies
back home. In addition, Harker sends some of its
teachers to study at sister schools around the world,
and hosts teachers from the same schools. Both are
able to give Harker students firsthand insights into
the cultures of countries that most of the students
have only read about or researched online. In our
global economy, that level of familiarity and the
foundation of cultural insight will play an increasingly
vital role in their lives.
NURTURING YOUNG TRAVELERS
In addition to Harker, a range of private schools
in the South Bay offers diverse programs that enlighten
and stimulate students by exposing them
to experiences abroad they would not encounter
at home.
The International School of the Peninsula
(ISTP) in Palo Alto, a bilingual immersion school
that begins taking kids on international trips as
early as fourth grade, is one of the most active.
International
School of the
Peninsula
students visit
Hangzhou,
China.
FROM TOP: JENNIFER WALROD; COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF THE PENINSULA; PREVIOUS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF THE HARKER SCHOOL; COURTESY OF VALLEY
CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS; COURTESY OF ALTO INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL; COURTESY OF PALO ALTO PREPARATORY SCHOOL; COURTESY OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF THE PENINSULA
58 South Bay Accent