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Want your kid to do better in school? Take ‘em on a trip.
Ivy Xu
February 20, 2024
Hand up if you work remotely? ✋
With an extra 19m Americans working remotely post-pandemic, a lot of folks are finding ways to exercise their new-found freedom.
For families, especially those who place importance on education, this can be a challenging dilemma.
Taking your family on an extended vacation might seem pretty anti-school.
You’re removing your kid from their daily structure, their teachers, and their academic lessons.
But hold up — traveling can actually improve academic performance.
A recent study by the Student & Youth Travel Association revealed how travel has an enormously positive impact on kids. 👇
They interviewed nearly 1,500 teachers representing 43k students. Source: SYTA
With positive social and emotional learning directly correlated to improved academic performance, it’s no surprise that parents are ditching the idea of planning their lives around the school calendar, and jet-setting with their kids.
The Chapman family is on a 10-year adventure to circumnavigate the globe on their bluewater vessel. Source: Forbes
Interested in trying it with your family?
Here are two ways to get started:
1. Prepare your mindset
Before you start booking flights, take time to prepare your (and your family’s) mindset.
What do you want to get out of the experience?
👉 Are you fed up with the monotony of your current routine, and just want to shake everything up?
👉 Or do you have a specific intention and clearly defined metrics of success for your adventure?
Both are fine.
But there’s one mindset aspect that is vital for all travelers: openness.
When asked once “What have you learned from all your travels?”, prolific late adventurer Anthony Bourdain replied:
“Be open to new experiences, be open to trying new things, don’t have a rigid plan. Accept random acts of hospitality without judgment or fear. Don’t be afraid to wander. Don’t be afraid to eat a bad meal. If you don’t risk the bad meal, you’ll never get the magical one.
But most importantly, be humble. Be grateful. Be aware of the fact that you are probably the stupidest person in the room.”
What a legend ❤️. Source: The New Yorker
1. Find a community
A travelers community is incredibly important, especially for a newbie.
Boundless Life is the gold standard for families who value education, and we even partner with them from time to time to deliver programming.
Prequel Program Director Nadim Nasser recently delivered a lesson on the topic of AI to Boundless Life students in Sintra, Portugal.
Boundless Life offers trips where families can stay in a single place for one to three months, with access to educational programming, cultural programming, and co-working amenities for mom and dad.
Other communities for traveling families include:
🌎 NomadTogether: A guide, podcast, blog, and Facebook community for “location independent families.”
🌍 Digital Nomad Families: A Facebook community for families who want to connect with other families exploring a “digital nomad” life.
🌏 Remote Year: An online community that brings together remote workers to work and explore in 80+ destinations around the world.