International Travel And Education
As part of their Gobles High School experience, students have explored ancient ruins in Greece and snorkeled with sea turtles in the Bahamas, sword fought in the Roman Colosseum, shopped in an open-air market in Turkey, and kissed the Blarney Stone in a 15th-Century Irish castle.
The experiences have been made available as part of two programs, The Gobles Biology Club and The Gobles History Club, run by Gobles teachers, that allow students to explore and deepen their learning in international locations.
Both programs are designed so that students can participate in the international trips with no money or very little money out-of-pocket. Teachers provide fund-raising activities, such as working concession stands or delivering flowers, that help students earn the fees they need to participate. We have had students attend both programs who would otherwise never be able to afford traveling out of the country on an educational trip.
The experiences have been made available as part of two programs, The Gobles Biology Club and The Gobles History Club, run by Gobles teachers, that allow students to explore and deepen their learning in international locations.
Both programs are designed so that students can participate in the international trips with no money or very little money out-of-pocket. Teachers provide fund-raising activities, such as working concession stands or delivering flowers, that help students earn the fees they need to participate. We have had students attend both programs who would otherwise never be able to afford traveling out of the country on an educational trip.
Gobles Biology Club Trip to San Salvador Island
The Gobles Biology Club began as an opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge and pursue their interests in biology and ecology, specifically the ways in which humans interact with the natural world and how that leads to change for both.
This club was the first to institute a local program of international travel and education in 2002, when Biology teacher Bob Lisowski began taking his students to Gerace Research Station in The Bahamas to study tropical ecology on a sensitive coral reef ecosystem. Because the program conducts real and serious research, Gerace Research Station typically hosts colleges and universities. Currently, Gobles High School is the only high school program in the country allowed to participate in the trip to the research facility on San Salvador.
The Gobles Biology Club began as an opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge and pursue their interests in biology and ecology, specifically the ways in which humans interact with the natural world and how that leads to change for both.
This club was the first to institute a local program of international travel and education in 2002, when Biology teacher Bob Lisowski began taking his students to Gerace Research Station in The Bahamas to study tropical ecology on a sensitive coral reef ecosystem. Because the program conducts real and serious research, Gerace Research Station typically hosts colleges and universities. Currently, Gobles High School is the only high school program in the country allowed to participate in the trip to the research facility on San Salvador.
Students pose for a photo during the 2014 Biology Club trip on San Salvador island at the site historians believe Christopher Columbus first made landfall in the Americas during his first voyage in 1492.
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Gobles History Club Trips to Historic Sites Around the World
Soon after students began traveling to San Salvador for the biology research trip, Gobles High School history teacher Jim Wiseley saw the value of international study, so he formed the The Gobles History Club with the goal of taking students to places in the world where world history actually happened.
The goal of the history club trips is to have students explore historical places, to see for themselves how the story unfolded and continues to unfold in the world, and the ways history in far away places impacts the world as we know it all the way back in Gobles, MI. One student on the 2013 trip commented that when he stood at the ruins of the Parthenon in Athens, he understood he was standing at the ancient birthplace of Democracy. These are the connections Mr. Wiseley looks to make with his students on trips to historic places.
Soon after students began traveling to San Salvador for the biology research trip, Gobles High School history teacher Jim Wiseley saw the value of international study, so he formed the The Gobles History Club with the goal of taking students to places in the world where world history actually happened.
The goal of the history club trips is to have students explore historical places, to see for themselves how the story unfolded and continues to unfold in the world, and the ways history in far away places impacts the world as we know it all the way back in Gobles, MI. One student on the 2013 trip commented that when he stood at the ruins of the Parthenon in Athens, he understood he was standing at the ancient birthplace of Democracy. These are the connections Mr. Wiseley looks to make with his students on trips to historic places.
Gobles juniors Brooklyn Wiseley and Danielle Cooper pause while exploring the historic Greek seaport on the island of Mykonos during the 2013 Gobles History Club trip.
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The clubs travel on alternate years during spring break. The History Club will travel to Italy in 2015, and The Biology Club will return to San Salvador again in 2016.