Glamaour Era magazine Glamaour Era India | Page 31
Think about how your teenager will spend their
next summer vacation.
What if their months off from school could include something much bigger than the
usual lineup of part-time jobs, sports practices and hanging out with friends?
Picture this: Your teenager wakes up in a different bedroom in a different country, far
from home. After eating a breakfast that may consist of new and different foods and
avors, served by a caring host family, your student heads out to have amazing
experiences in a new land. Whatever the day brings, your teenager will remember it for
a lifetime.
What surprises many is a summer of studying abroad is not just for college students.
What's also surprising: going abroad is not just for families of means. For all high
school students, there is ample opportunity to spend their summer in a new country,
having an experience of a lifetime that just isn't available at home.
Every year, more than 300,000 U.S. students study abroad, according to the NAFSA:
Association of International Educators. If your high school student were among them,
how would the adventure transform their lives and futures?
1. They stretch and grow.
A summer abroad is the ultimate "stretch" experience a student could have. That is,
learning to communicate in a foreign language and adapting to daily life in a
different culture makes students who study abroad in high school more resourceful,
and helps them develop their interpersonal skills and discover new solutions to
obstacles.
"Many parents see a change in their students when they return from the experience of
studying abroad," says Matt Redman, vice president of Global Navigator High School
Study Abroad programs at CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange, a
nonprot that operates more than 300 study abroad programs. "They just carry
themselves differently because of that boost in maturity and condence they gain from
living in a new place during their summer break."
2. They get exposure to
bigger ideas and
experiences.
If going abroad is an opportunity your student wants to pursue, it's important to
understand the options and to identify goals for the program so your teenager has the
experience he or she is looking for. Some programs offer daily itineraries where
students visit multiple cities and see the major sites. Others are more focused and offer
interaction with local people, local language lessons and a chance to live and engage
with the community. While both approaches offer valuable life experiences, learning
can be balanced with fun.
For example, CIEE's Global Navigators high school programs give students an
opportunity to learn and work in a eld of study, such as marine science, lmmaking
or global entrepreneurship in places like China, Spain or Peru. At the same time,
there's room in the schedule for exploration and fun, where students sightsee, try new
activities and participate in community events.