World Schooling

Below is an outline of my podcast Interview with Milin Chandler. In it, she mentioned Momundo Travel and @flightsfromhome on Instagram.

Episode Outline:

World Schooling is an education philosophy that focuses on learning empathy, understanding, and appreciation for different cultures and perspectives. It is a very open concept that appreciates the wide and varied beauty the world has to offer!

Families who world school could be full time R.V.ers, American expats living in a foreign country, or families who can only maybe 3 months out of the year or even just short weekend trips near home but identify with the values and philosophy of world schooling.

There isn’t a set right or wrong way to world school. Many unschool, some online school, and others follow slimmed down version traditional homeschooling philosophies like charlotte mason or classical models when on the road and homeschool like anyone else when home.

What they have in common is their value of freedom, personal growth, firsthand experiences, and global citizenship. They often have a wholistic view of education and love making connections between subjects and people! They are not afraid to go out on a limb because they know that is where the fruit is.

Today we are talking about world schooling with my friend Milin Chandler. She has been to over (# of countries you’ve visited) countries, and (number of states you’ve visited) states. (Number of countries & states you’ve visited with your kids) with her children.

We meet through out local CoOp and I’ve always been fascinated and excited to hear about their adventures and where they are heading next.

·         Milin, when did you start traveling?

·         Why did you and your husband decide to make travel a priority in your family?

·         Which place do you think did that best so far?

·         Would you consider yourself a part-time world schooler? Why or why not?

When a world schooler travels, they often focus on experiences that allow for cultural immersion like eating at local restaurants, making friends at a park, and shopping at local grocery stores. When they do tourist attractions it is usually educational places like touring historical sights and museums but can also be natural places though eco-travel. Their objective is to experience the world, not just sample it or escape from it.

·         What has been some of your favorite types of experiences while traveling? (food, cultural immersion, natural wonders, historical sites, etc)

·         What was an unexpected benefit that came from traveling with your family?

For many world schoolers the object of their travel is to learn through firsthand experience about the diversity of the world around them. Through their travels they will face unexpected challenges that push the limits of their problem solving and resilience and challenge their paradigms, but they come out the other side of it as independent, open minded, & compassionate people.

·         What was the biggest challenge you faced while traveling? And how did it shape you (or your children).

·         You have such bright and kind kids, what role does travel play in your children’s education?

As romantic as all of this sounds there is a lot of work that goes into planning trips and even more for those who plan to make it a full-time lifestyle.

·         What goes into choosing your trips? Are your kids involved, is it just where the deals are, places your curious about, etc?

·         What kinds of things do you do before the trip to prep the kids for the place you are visiting? Do you provide context or history or just let them form their own ideas from their experiences?

·         For a family wanting to start traveling more what advice would you give on making it more affordable?

·         Do you have any hacks for travel that make things easier?

Those who travel full time sometimes experience loneliness or miss close connections that come with friendships built over time. Some of the kids struggle with a lack of routine or if the travel is more fast paced they feel a loss of “home” base. They get incredible experiences but can sometimes sacrifice the benefits of community for it. Around the world, world schooling hubs are popping up trying to capture the benefits of community as well as the life of a traveler.

·         What would you say is the ideal amount of travel?

·         Would you ever consider a full-time world schooling lifestyle?

·         Where are you headed next?

Thank yous/goodbyes

Ever since I started planning my trip to Italy this fall, I have been fascinated by travel bloggers daydreaming about traveling the world with my husband. When I found out about full-time world schoolers my imagination was snatched! FAMILIES can experience the world as travelers together. Sign. Me. Up.

While it is not feasible for us with our budget and other goals to develop our land to become full or even truly part time world schoolers. The values align so well with how I teach and the curriculums I create.

Someone with a world schooling attitude but a stay-at-home budget can read books from other people’s perspectives, try cuisine from around the world, watch documentaries and be fascinated to learn the stories of strangers knowing that everyone has something to offer. They will visit other towns or trails and appreciate the beauty and unique character of the place they live and love to play tour guide to out of town visitors.

In planning our trip, I have discovered new perspective on travel. Originally, I thought of picking a spot on the map and moving to Italy for a few months. After inflation kicked our but a little, we decided to shorten our stay to 6 weeks and see more of the country. At first I was disappointed thinking our world schooling experience would be ruined as we traveled from place to place just seeing the sites on vacation- I mean it would still be incredible but not the cultural immersion experience I had hoped for.

Then I heard of a slow travel approach. When you slow travel you stay in each place for longer. Maybe a few days in one town or a week or two. Long enough that you can see the sites then experience the town the way the locals do, doing laundry at the laundromat, buying groceries, playing at the park. All the “normal” stuff you’d do at home but in a different place and sometimes at a different pace. You get to see the way others live in an unhurried way.

My boys are country boys. They ride their bikes and play outside and chase chickens. They have never been on a train or a bus or even really in a city center other than to drive to another destination. Our closest “big city” has a population of about 60,000.

I kind of love the idea of culture shock both for myself and for my kids, being in the minority, struggling with the language, taking public transport, and walking everywhere in Europe will be an adjustment.

Yes, we will visit the Trevi fountain, but we will also stay in a farmhouse outside Florence and bbq and shop and just live in a place unfamiliar to us. We narrowed our destinations down to allow for a more exploratory approach and I am excited to see how it goes.

As fascinated as I am with world schooling, I hope this trip gives them enough of a taste for travel to spark their wanderlust the way the trip my grandmother took me on to Mexico did for me when I was 14. Seeing how big the world is beyond my front door as a young woman from Alaska, led me on many adventures and opened my curiosity in the way nothing else could.

Most people, my self-included, cannot travel as much as they would like. This trip will probably be a once in a lifetime trip for our family but taking road trips to national parks, and other towns can still spark wonder when you approach them with a world schooling attitude.

So, I challenge you to step outside, just beyond your comfort zone. Whether that is trying a new Thai restaurant in the next town over or a new language in a new country. Both you and your kids will benefit from a world school experience.

As always, until next time, stay curious.