TRAVELLING TEENAGERS or TRAVELLING TEACHERS

Read Time:4 Minute, 3 Second

TOURING TEENAGERS: West Broward students posing in front of the Museo Nacional Del Prado (National Museum of the Meadow). Inside the museum they will explore pieces of classical Spanish art such as The Descent from the Cross or Saturn Devouring His Son. photo courtesy of Michelle Wilson

By: Adrian Baez

How chemistry educators’ passion takes students to foreign countries through EF Tours
North America is a beautiful continent with many breathtaking sights to see but many people in America
simply don’t get the chance to view any other countries such as Germany or Spain unless it is through a
screen. This is why education first (EF) steps up to give people an opportunity to step outside their
cultural bubble and travel the world and thanks to Michelle Wilson and several associates West Broward
students are able to have this experience readily.

EF Tours was created in 1965 when a man named Bertil Hult brought some Swedish students to England.
The idea was simple; the students would learn English while on vacation. 60 years later, hundreds of
thousands of people have created learning and business opportunities through EF Tours taking them to
different countries. EF has been working to keep minds and the world open, designing tours to help
educators teach, and so students can learn more about tolerance, other perspectives, and themselves. 40
percent of Americans have never left North America, there can be many reasons for this such as
insufficient funds, xenophobia or lack of motivation but Michelle Wilson has brought EF tours to the
attention of West Broward students to combat these things by taking teenagers who can fully appreciate
these tours while also showing them that visiting a foreign country is a safe and unique way to learn and
improve themselves.

“ I actually love to travel and I feel like not only is it fun to do, but I think you actually learn a lot. taking
students for me, is just kind of sharing my passion. of travel, but it also allows students to learn some
independence. be more open to other cultures, languages, just ways of life that are different to what we’re used to. and watching my students just be mesmerized by what they see and what they learn is just really what it’s about for me, ” stated chemistry teacher Amina Mohammed.

The Museo Nacional del Prado, the most comprehensive collection of Spanish painting in the world. The Prado is home to works by some of the Spanish Golden Age painters including Zurbarán, Murillo, and the great Velázquez, whose masterpieces hang here. Photo courtesy by Spain.info

In 2016 Michelle Wilson discovered the EF tours organization and wanted to give students at West
Broward the opportunity to join and travel the world, going to Greece in 2018. In the school year of 2024
students went to France,in the 2025 school year they went to Spain and Portugal and in 2026 they will be
going to Germany, Switzerland and Austria for spring break. She, along with Tina Mohammad and Dana
Kisman invite students they know on a personal level and those that will appreciate the culture and will
cherish the opportunity to go on this trip in the first place. EF tours was introduced to west broward
because of these teachers’ dedication to showing students the world and broadening their horizons.

“We talked about it a few times in 2016 and 2017, and when Ms. Keisman and I organized the first trip,
we didn’t know how we were gonna like it, but we ended up loving it and we’ve been growing the
program ever since. We take a full bus now for the last couple years. Our trip fills up in 30 minutes after
our meeting. so it’s become pretty popular,” stated Chemistry teacher Michelle Wilson

The reason for this trip is twofold, for one these tours exist to give students the opportunity to see places
many don’t get the chance to visit. The second reason is giving students the ability to see other cultures or see old things from a new perspective which can help development of social skills and empathy. F Tours exists to attempt to nip these problems in the bud and allow young students to be unafraid of new
experiences by showing them what it is like to be in a new country. There are two sides to every story and
these tours allow students to see first hand how many other people live differently from Americans,
letting them see new communities, places, and more.

“We took the kids out and we learned that they just loved to meet people from other countries and talking to them, and then we also learned a lot of history because we do put education first and keep the kids very busy, learning experiences in every country with a little free time so they can go around and explore a little bit on their own. We’ve just enjoyed sharing that experience and our love for travel with them,” Wilson stated