While generally speaking history is both
the most common subject associated with school
tours and the one that pupils will benefit the most from,
there are a number of other common school subjects where an outing can also serve
as a worthwhile didactic too and a complement to textbook learning.
Perhaps the most common among these
subjects are science and geography, two areas where teachers are also known to
organise school tours and trips with
some regularity. This is especially true when the syllabus for the class or
year group includes topics relating to plant and animal life that acquire a
whole new dimension when studied ‘in the field’.
Science
In The Flesh
One of the prime destinations to which science
teachers may want to take their students is South Africa. As far as science and
nature ‘in the wild’ go there are few destinations that will provide a better
range of activities to engage in and places to visit. Much like the remainder
of the African continent, this location is all about striking a delicate
balance between nature and civilisation, with the former still holding enough
of an advantage to justify any class of pupils visiting and learning about
wildlife there.
It is not just the prospect of a safari and
the close-up sightings of lions and zebras that it promises which gives South
Africa its appeal as a field trip destination. Students and teachers on school tours to that part of the world
will discover the country offers a vast array of environments to explore, from
the world-famous savannah to more unexpected mountain ranges and forests, as
well as coastal landscapes and deserts. This will not only imbue the trip with
a sense of unpredictability and variety, but will also allow teachers to
explore more than one theme, giving them the opportunity to talk about the
different habitats and ecosystems that each type of landscape possesses.
Geography teachers, on the other hand, can remark on how so many different
kinds of landscape can co-exist in the same area.
Something
For The Rest Of Them
But while subjects involving natural
phenomena will be the ones to benefit the most from school tours to South Africa, teachers of subjects such as history
or political studies may not be left empty-handed, either. The country has a
colourful past which lecturers for both these subjects may take the opportunity
to broach whilst on location in Johannesburg. The role of Nelson Mandela in the
country’s history or the Apartheid issue definitely deserves a few minutes of
the students’ time whilst on tour in South Africa, and could help complement other
subjects as well.
As has become evident, then, this location
is one of the best in the world for the study of wildlife, but has some potential
in other areas of study as well.
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