Group Leader Spotlight: Jeremy Van Hof

We've come across several EF Group Leaders who write their own group blogs, passing on information about their tours to their travelers. But I haven't seen any better than the one Jeremy Van Hof writes.

Jeremy is an English and newspaper teacher at DeWitt High School in DeWitt, Mich., and he maintains a blog for his tour this summer to Italy and Spain. Not only does Jeremy's blog include important information about his group's meetings and tour specifics, but it also includes interesting posts and video about his group's destination, and even general travel details that others might find useful.

We first found out about Don't Forget Your Toothbrush on Jeremy's blog. And, this past weekend, Jeremy had a couple interesting of posts on how much spending money to bring on tour and a link about the euro.

Jeremy also plans to blog while on tour. He did the same thing two years ago on an EF tour to London and Paris.

Jeremy is currently featured in the Group Leader Spotlight in the March issue of the EF Travel Tribune, our online magazine. We asked Jeremy some specifics about his blog and even blogging on tour. There are excerpts in the Travel Tribune, and you can read the full interview with Jeremy below.

If you have a blog for your own group that you'd like to share, we'd love to know about it. You can post it in comments below or just email me.

Here's our full interview with Jeremy Van Hof:

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What’s your background? What do you teach?
I’m a 29-year-old, seventh-year teacher, currently teaching English and newspaper at DeWitt High School in DeWitt, Mich. I have both a BA (English) and an MA (Curriculum) from Michigan State University. I live in East Lansing, Mich., with my wife Jill, 30, my son Theo, 6, and my daughter Lucy, 3. I am also the Vice President of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, and am active in areas related to student press and student publications.

What inspired you to begin taking students on educational tours?
In 2004, I was looking for a way to expand my enjoyment of teaching and to find a way for students on my newspaper and yearbook staffs to bond a bit more. I fell into a conversation with a world studies teacher in my school, who told me about overseas trips she had been leading with EF. In speaking with her and in doing some research about overseas travel on my own, I came to see that leading a trip was a great way for me to help students bond with each other while at the same time learning about the world and becoming more informed and productive members of the global community. I also saw it as a perfect way for me to see the world—even on a teacher’s salary. I advertised a trip to London and Paris and had 85 interested students show up at the first meeting. I soon saw that this was going to be something far more powerful than a newspaper and yearbook bonding tour. In the end, about 25 students traveled with my wife and me. We spent 10 days in London and Paris in 2006—one of the best experiences of my life.

Where are you going this year? How do you decide where to take students on tour?
This year, we’ll be going to Italy and Spain—specifically Rome, Florence, Barcelona and Madrid. I consider a few things when planning a destination: 1.) Where do I want to go? 2.) Would I be comfortable taking students there? 3.) Is the destination one that will appeal to a broad population within the school? 4.) Do any other student groups conflict by offering similar trips to similar destinations?

What kind of an effect does traveling abroad have on your students?
The effect on the students is remarkable. I had students grow and mature in ways I didn’t think possible over the course of the 10 days we were in Europe. One boy had no friends on the tour the day we left Michigan. He sat by himself in the airport and lingered close to me for much of the first day. By the end of the trip, he was fully ingrained in a tight-knit circle of friends and showed a social maturity that I had never seen in him before. I know that many of the students I traveled with are still very close friends today, and many of them attribute those friendships to the trip. Students learned lessons in personal responsibility, finance, time management and integrity. Above all, though, they became more independent.

Do you have a favorite story or memory from tour?
There are so many, but one that stands out is this. We were on the banks of the Thames River in London, near the London Eye. Some students wanted to take a ride on the Eye but didn’t have any cash on them. They made a little sign that read, “Help Poor Americans,” and they began to sing and dance like buskers. They drew a little audience that grew pretty quickly, and before long, they had raised enough money for that ride on the wheel. I’ll never forget the hilarious dance they did, the applause they got from the locals and the fun that they had doing it.

Have you been able to incorporate your travel experiences into your own teaching?
As I teach, I find that I make references to the places I’ve been almost every day. There is no way to measure the value of the cultural knowledge that is gained by seeing famous and important sites firsthand.

How do you generate excitement among students? And how do you hold their interest during the planning process?
I start by peppering the school with fliers and EF posters. I put out teaser announcements such as: “Want to go shopping in Barcelona? Come to a meeting on Tuesday …” or “Do you like pizza? Why not eat it in Rome …” Then I hold my first meeting, where I run through the itinerary and the basics of the trip. I usually show videos related to the destinations as well. If necessary, I hold two of these meetings. I tell the students that their job is to “sell” the idea to their parents. After the intro meetings, I hold an evening meeting for parents and students in the school library. I bring in food and drink related to the destination cities, run through the whole itinerary and price structure, and answer as many questions as I can. I hold the meeting in the library so that at the end of it, parents can log on to the EF website and enroll then and there. I usually hold these meetings well in advance of the departure (over a year) and then keep student interest high by holding monthly meetings at school. Each of these meetings focuses on one specific element of the trip, and provides them with planning, packing, passport and preparation information. I also maintain a trip blog that I post on every two weeks or so. The purpose is to provide online resources for the students as they plan.

You have a great group blog, which combines specific tour information with general destination information. What are your goals for the blog?
In the months prior to the trip, I use the blog: A.) as a way to keep students and parents apprised of the planning process; B.) to post information students may have missed from planning meetings; C.) to educate students about our destinations; and D.) to keep interest high among the prospective travelers.

How often do you post? How has the blog been to write and maintain?
I post about every other week or so, but far more frequently as the departure date nears. I use Google’s Blogger service, and it’s very easy to maintain. If I see an interesting or useful video or website, I’ll post it, and I make a point to post after every planning meeting.

Do you find that your blog is a valuable way to communicate with your travelers? Are they using it?
I have the blog set up so that every time I post, it automatically emails the entire group of travelers. This way, they get the information and are more likely to view the site. I talk the blog up at every meeting and encourage kids to check it out often. I have a hit counter that shows the traffic, which is light right now, but which picks up as the departure nears and as we’re on the trip.

You also blog while on tour. How do you do that? What has the reaction been among the parents?
I use Internet cafes or Web access at the hotels. Because Blogger is all Web-based, I can access it from anywhere and blog any time. Posting takes little or no effort—it only takes as long as typing an email. Parents find that the short posts keep them informed about the trip status and allow them to know that all is well without pricey overseas phone calls. This year, I’m bringing a laptop with WiFi, so I hope to be able to make the posts a bit more substantial than I did on the previous tour. I use the free photo editing software Picasa to catalog digital photos—that program has a direct link to Blogger, which should make it easier to post photos while we’re overseas.

Do you have any advice or tips that you can share with new EF Group Leaders?
I would stress the value of communication. Students and their parents are customers paying a lot of money for these trips. They deserve to know as much as possible every step of the way. I have found that relying on digital resources to keep everyone in the loop is efficient and effective (and free!).

What’s your dream travel destination?
That’s not a fair question. You should ask where do I not want to go—the list would be a lot shorter (Gary, Indiana). Seriously, I think the place I’d most like to see in an educational context is the Far East—China and Japan. In a strictly vacation sense, I’d most like to visit the Maldives.

Comments

[Lenin]

In this Blog everyone is sharing their prevoius experiences regarding their feelings..
that is what is mention here as following the Equator.
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Lenin
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