Becoming a Better Teacher Leader
As a teacher, you find yourself responsible for the well being, safety, and education of the students
in your classroom daily. Those of you who have taught while on the go (in a travel program or similar
scenario) know that these responsibilities—and sometimes stresses—can be increased during travel. At
People to People Ambassador Programs, the fifth largest number of complaints we receive concern leader
behavior—even though it’s still a very small number. Based on these experiences, we would like to share
some tips we’ve learned that may help you next time you’re on the road with students.
But first, a little more about us and our relationship with our teachers. At People to People Ambassador
Programs more than twenty-five hundred teacher leaders travel the world each year. These wonderful
educators oversee delegations of approximately forty students on life-changing adventures, to all seven
continents. In the last fifty years, we’ve traveled to more than sixty countries. Our programs are filled
with culturally enriching activities, opportunities to create lifelong friendships, and are a great way to
learn about world cultures. But, because this is real life and our students range from 10 to 18 years old,
our teacher leaders face the basic challenges that are present in all educational environments.
At our headquarters, we diligently track every single call that comes to our program office prior
to, during, and post travel. Sometimes, these calls take the form of a question, concern, or rarely, a
complaint—including those regarding a leader’s behavior. We track this information because we want to
learn from the past and prepare for the future. Similarly, we want to understand any problems that arise
and make sure that proactive steps are taken to end the event in a positive light. I thought I would share
a couple of the top issues that crop up with our teacher leaders, so that you can benefit next time you are
on a travel program or field trip. Here is what we’ve learned, split into two categories: the complaints we
receive from parents, and the complaints we receive from other teacher leaders.
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