Reply to 5th grade international trip worth all the effort?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I think it's a wonderful idea and would be 100% behind the fundraising effort. It exposes the children to something many Title I students never see. Additionally, it levels the playing field between Latino students who may or may not travel back to their families' country of origin and those with roots here, in the States. It gives the children something to share, a great experience.

It's a middle class privilege that should be extended to all students, as much as possible. My children take international travel for granted, it's part of how we function as a family. It's one of the things that differentiates them from their classmates, this world travel. It certainly differentiates them from their grandparents' life experiences as the generation that moved beyond the working class.

What's your hesitation? It seems life-altering, so positive![/quote]
Well, our PTA raises about $30,000/year, and sending say 70 kids abroad would probably cost at least $210,000 ($3000/kid). So there's that. Our PTA budget is precious and if we have to shift our efforts to the 5th grade trip, I fear everything else (field trips, teacher supplies, etc.) will go by the wayside. Also, the plan is to take only maybe half of the class, so many will be left out.

Also, I took my first international trip abroad to Europe in high school. It was a great experience, but the fact is that we were on a package tour and about 90% of the daylight hours were spent on a bus or in a hotel, or at meals, etc with our own group. Or visiting tourist sites. I still have an album with photos of Notre Dame and castles and other sights. Was it life altering? Maybe, in some sense. It certainly made me want to go back and see more of Europe. But does that make it worth it for 5th graders at the school where we are now? I'm not sure.

What are some of the ways international travel has affected your kids and broadened their horizons or whatever? If the idea is to see how much poorer people are there, or to get a taste of Latin American culture, I think our kids already are already aware of those differences.

I just feel if we want to give our 5th graders the experience of traveling together, there are plenty of things to see that are much closer --eg Manhattan. Or even Philly. [/quote]

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