For North Vancouver teacher Kristen Gill, geography has always been about much more than maps. It’s also about exploring, she says, about understanding other cultures and our place in the natural world.
“If a child can have an understanding of how they fit into the world and how the decisions they make can have an impact, I think it’s really important,” she says.
Now Gill, a Grade 5 teacher at Montroyal elementary, has the chance of a lifetime to make those lessons come alive after being chosen as one of only four teachers in Canada who will take part in a professional development trip led by National Geographic next month.
Gill is one of 35 teachers chosen from among 800 educators who applied to the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow program, an annual professional development program run by a partnership of National Geographic Education and Lindblad Expeditions.
The program involves taking teachers, historians and naturalists – as well as other paying guests – on board the National Geographic Explorer icebreaker, one of two special ships that travel to some of the more remote areas of the planet, including the Arctic, Iceland and Antarctica.
Gill’s all-expense paid trip will involve exploring some of the more remote outer British and Irish Isles, including sites of ancient Celtic villages and archeological sites, the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland islands.
Teachers are expected to develop activities to take back to their classrooms and try to foster geographic literacy and interest with other educators.
Gill said being chosen to go on the trip by National Geographic is a huge honour. “It’s an organization I’ve held in esteem for most of my life,” she said.
Getting kids to think about their place in the wider world is something Gill has been doing for the 17 years she’s been teaching.
“The whole idea is to make learning global. And realizing what you do here can effect people over there,” she says.
As an educator, Gill says her goal is to encourage “kids who are curious and adventurous and responsible for others in the world.”
That’s especially important in the digital age, as kids spend more time on electronic devices, she says. “Just playing outside is something kids are losing these days.”
Gill’s own passion for exploring has already taken her on some global adventures in her personal life – she has travelled to China, Korea, India, Turkey and Japan and counts a trip to Mongolia among the highlights so far.
When she shares stories of those trips with her students, “they’re just amazed.”
For her upcoming trip, Gill says she’s already prepared with a good camera and “head-to-toe Gore-Tex.” Weather off the western and northern British Isles in May can vary from good to very bad, she says. “Last year they regularly had 20-foot swells.”
Parts of the trip she’s most looking forward to include those farthest off the beaten track. “The more remote the better,” she says.
This Wednesday, Gill leaves for a four-day orientation and training session in Washington, D.C., where she’ll meet other teachers involved in the program.
Before she leaves for the British Isles next month, Gill plans to put together a large display about her journey in the lobby of Montroyal elementary school with the help of her students. Kids will research each of the stops along the route and move an icon each day to keep track of their travelling teacher. Gill will also visit her school’s classes before she leaves and ask them for any questions they’d like answered along the way.
“I’m hoping to involve everybody,” she says. “They’re so excited for me.”
While onboard, Gill will post a blog where Internet connection is available. Those entries, along with a plan for classroom activities, will be shared with National Geographic. Gill said she also hopes to use her experience to work with other teachers to incorporate global teaching into classroom lessons.
Gill leaves for her two-week trip May 9 and returns May 23.
