Persuasive Essay On Learning Experience

Marcel Proust once said, “We don’t receive wisdom; we discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare for us.” However, is this saying still applicable especially after twenty-nine students and eight teachers of Tanjong Katong Primary School perished in the mishap of the 5.9 magnitude earthquake which hit Sabah, East Malaysia? Many has raised their concerned and expressed their opinion that overseas trips should be cancelled. While we agree that overseas learning journey may pose unexpected or unforeseen danger, these programme are actually effective learning platforms as it prepares all students for success in an increasingly globalised and connected world, build their personal and social competence, and it

They are able to enhance their sense of self and personal identity. According to writer Charlotte Yap from UrbanWire.com, during a study trip in South Korea, when she was a student herself, the experience gave her and her friends a chance to fully immerse in the culture by interacting with the locals (Manfred Tham, 2015). She was able to share with the locals her backgrounds and was proud to talk about her personal identity. It is definitely a great exposure too as values like independence; looking out for each other; confidence and maturity are values that can only be cultured best outside the classroom. According to Jayden from Warrnambool College student, “You’re more about others than yourself when you come home … You’re more of a leader because of the skills you gain from the experience.” (Overseas Learning Experiences for Students,

For this reason, it is important that careful planning and preparation are being done. Pre-departure, in-country and post-overseas learning experience is critically imperative to ensure that overseas learning experience has significant impact. Hence, forward planning such as clarity of purposes and aims of the trips is important in getting support from various stakeholders such as the school leaders, staff, students and also parents. Teachers on the other hand must also be clear about and comfortable with the roles, responsibilities and accountability associated with taking groups of students overseas. It is a benefit if teachers assigned to the overseas trips are specially trained and fully aware of the physical challenges that they might face. For example, if teachers are required to climb a mountain, they should be physically trained prior to the trips. They should be made aware of the possible challenges that they may face and how to deal with the situations. Therefore, it is important to benchmark participants’ current awareness, cultural understanding and attitudes at a very early stage of pre-departure