One of the perks of being a teacher is having a summer break like students, according to many teachers. Whether they are using their time off to pursue their interests, exploring or spending time with family, CESJDS teachers are traveling all over the world this summer.
After experimenting with ceramics for the past two years, English teacher Dory Fox plans to travel to Tuscany, Italy, where she will participate in a ceramics workshop for a week, followed by a week of exploring Italy. Although she has not recently visited Italy, she looks forward to admiring the landscape, visiting new places and trying as many new things as possible.
Fox is also using this experience as a learning opportunity and she hopes to learn new methods that she can apply in the upcoming school year.
“One of my favorite things about taking pottery classes is the experience of being a student,” Fox said. “I think that learning something new and trying to improve at it and realizing it makes such a big difference. The way that a teacher speaks to you, the way that your classroom is set up, all those different things really help me put myself in the position of being a student.”
Vacationing in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, Jewish history teacher Paul Blank is looking forward to going on hikes, visiting new places and being submerged in history. Blank typically goes on trips out of the country each summer as he finds it to be great exposure to new people and history.
One trip Blank is particularly excited about is Vietnam and hiking the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was used for transportation during the war.
“I look forward to Vietnam in particular, because I like learning about history,” Blank said. “I followed the Vietnam War, and this year is significant because it is the 50th anniversary since the end of the war.”
Science teacher Melissa Andrew looks forward to spending time with her family on a road trip through the western United States, while also visiting several national parks. She and her family planned most of the journey using Google Gemini, an AI assistant, which provided a rough itinerary. Andrew chose this trip in particular because she found it was important, especially with the current state of the world.
“I am concerned about the state of national parks,” Andrew said. “With climate change, things happen, … so I want to see them before they potentially disappear.”
Andrew is also going to Israel for the first time this summer and will be traveling with coworkers to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. She is eager to try new foods, visit new places and more importantly, use this opportunity to better understand her students and work environment.
“The trip was introduced to me by leadership in her school as an opportunity for me to understand my students better as a non-Jewish teacher who educates Jewish students, so I thought that was a perfect opportunity,” Andrew said.
Whether teachers are using their summer break to spend time with family, educate themselves or travel the world, students and staff also have time off to engage in different activities before the next school year begins
“Overall, I think I’m just really excited to feel totally surrounded by new places, new sites sounds, everything,” Fox said.
