Washougal High School Spanish teacher Rochelle Aiton-Quested does everything she can to educate her students about different languages and cultures in her classroom, but knows there’s no substitute for real-world experience.
That’s why she’s taken pupils on five trips to foreign countries in the past 12 years. She feels a great deal of satisfaction when the teenagers truly start to understand that the world is much bigger than they had previously assumed.
“I love seeing their light bulbs go on,” Aiton-Quested said. “Their eyes open to foreign culture that helps them see past their American assumptions. They realize that they are capable of being global citizens and they really appreciate the beauty of nature and the people.”
Aiton-Quested, along with former Washougal High teacher Craig Grable and students Mariah Moran, Blake Scott, Josiah Aiton and Jessica Troyer, visited Belize on July 10-18 as part of an “adventure tour” coordinated by EF Educational Tours, a worldwide educational travel organization.
“(The trip involved a) combination of historical landmarks, like the ancient Mayan ruins, but also fun,” Aiton-Quested said. “We talked about culture, language, history, the politics of the area, and what the schools are like.”