News
Jay Yoder, a middle school teacher and comedian on the Bored Teachers Comedy Tour, recently went super viral on the Teachers Off Duty Podcast, the #1 teacher podcast in the world! Why did his soundbite get over 4.6 million views in just 48 hours? Because he may have shared with the teacher world the most exciting activity students have ever been assigned! Each year, he assigns his students to develop a vacation plan. He then uses their plan for his own family vacations over summer break or when he takes students on learning trips. Not only does Mr. Yoder get a bunch of great trip ideas to recover from the school year over breaks, his students also learn all kinds of important life skills along the way
Why have your students plan a vacation?
The vacation planning is not just fun – it is meant to be a powerful learning experience for the students. Mr. Yoder’s goal with the project is to show kids the work their parents do to make trips so much fun. His students learn to budget for a trip by making some price comparisons, such as whether it would be better to rent a car or use public transportation.
Students also get to learn about various cultures by exploring different activities they can do while visiting their chosen destination. Mr. Yoder encourages the kids to check tourism sites to see customer reviews of activities and sites. Along the way, students are required to budget and keep track of their expenses, a lesson that will continue to be valuable in so many other areas of their lives.
Getting to know your students
So, besides vacation research, what’s in it for Mr. Yoder? First, Mr. Yoder gets to know his students as individuals. He discovers their maturity levels and how well they work with others. He gets to really know the personality of his students based on their plans and he also loves watching his students experience the joy of finding a good deal!
Travel benefits
While the project is great on its own, Mr. Yoders’ students’ research also gives him a starting point when he plans educational trips. He has been taking kids on trips for 12 years to places such as Greece, Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, and France. He chooses these destinations with the help of these student vacation research projects. (Costa Rica was Mr. Yoder’s favorite – they have great coffee!
Mr. Yoder has also taken several of his students’ projects to heart as he and his wife travel, which has saved him some time. Their trip to the ruins in Tulum, Mexico was inspired by a student project. Mr. Yoder also tried mole, a food he may not have eaten if not for a recommendation from a student.
As students present their vacations with digital brochures, photos, and videos, everyone is excited to vote on the best getaway. Mr. Yoder says it’s his favorite activity to do because they get to be in charge of their own learning, which means they’ll remember it for a lifetime.
