{"id":3411,"date":"2017-02-22T17:37:34","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T21:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/?p=3411"},"modified":"2017-02-09T17:39:16","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T21:39:16","slug":"group-leader-spotlight-gary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/group-leader-spotlight-gary","title":{"rendered":"Group leader spotlight: Gary R"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gary\"Meet Gary, a Canadian history and social studies teacher for grades 9-12. He has 24 years of teaching experience, has led four tours with Explorica and is bringing his students to Vimy 100, a commemorative event hosted by the Canadian government marking the 100th<\/sup>anniversary of the First World War and the Battle of Vimy Ridge at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. Gary\u2019s deep appreciation of history inspired him to become a teacher so he could share that\u00a0passion with future generations. He sat down with us to discuss his extensive experience with educational travel and teaching Canadian history.<\/p>\n

What inspired you to take your students on international Canadian history tours?<\/strong><\/span>
\nI don\u2019t think I truly understood what it\u00a0meant to be Canadian until I visited the important Canadian history sites across Europe. As an educator, I feel a responsibility to bring students overseas to see these places and feel what they represent for themselves, so they can have the opportunity to discover their Canadian identity as I did. There is no substitute for first-hand experience.<\/p>\n

Do you have any personal connections to the Canadian Armed Forces? If so, how have those relationships enhanced the significance of the Canadian commemorative events?<\/strong><\/span>
\nYes, my wife, Cindy, is an\u00a0RCMP officer. It means a lot to be able to share these moments with those who serve our country. I know it must mean a great\u00a0deal to them to see this country\u2019s youth paying such respect to them and those who came before them.<\/p>\n

What are you looking forward to most at\u00a0the Vimy 100 commemorative event?<\/strong><\/span>
\nIt will be so exciting to be a part of history, a moment in time. I am sure it will be an event that my students will never forget and that they will be able to share with their children and grandchildren as well. It is moments like these that keeps history alive\u2014I think being a part of that is what I am looking forward to the most.<\/p>\n

As an experienced Explorica group leader, do you have any advice for teachers planning educational history tours?<\/strong><\/span>
\nOne of my favourite Louis Pasteur quotes is, \u201cChance favours the prepared mind.\u201d It pays to do your research and discuss your goals with your Explorica program consultant as there are so many things to do and see\u2014it\u2019s important to prioritize them in terms of your academic goals. But, when you are on tour it is still important to be flexible and trust your tour director to maximize the experience for your students. Sometimes unexpected opportunities come up that you can\u2019t pass up!<\/p>\n

Which<\/strong> Canadian history landmark should all high school students visit?<\/strong><\/span>
\nThere are so many it is hard to pick just one; Vimy, Juno Beach, Dieppe, Beaumont-Hamel, and any Canadian war graves cemetery. You can\u2019t go wrong taking students to any of these sites because they hold special meaning to each individual. You never know which\u00a0location will be the one that changes how a student identifies with their\u00a0personal history.<\/p>\n

What is your most memorable moment on an Explorica tour?<\/strong><\/span>
\nThere have been so many! I think each\u00a0tour has those \u201cah-ha\u201d moments and they are always unique. For me, it was standing at Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium for the first time. I was overcome with emotion at the thought that one of my sons could be buried in an Unknown grave\u2014a lesson that resonated with everyone on the tour, and I\u2019m sure those students won\u2019t easily forget it.<\/p>\n

So is it safe to say that you would recommend travelling with students to teachers who haven\u2019t tried it yet?<\/strong> <\/span>
\nAbsolutely. Taking Canadian history students to Europe has been the highlight of my teaching career. The rewards are worth the preparation and planning because the lessons learned last a lifetime and beyond. As a teacher, it just doesn\u2019t get any better than that.<\/p>\n

You can take your students on a history-themed tour with Explorica! Take a look out our Canadian\u00a0history tour collection<\/strong><\/a> or give us a call at 1.888.378.8845<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Gary, a Canadian history and social studies teacher for grades 9-12. He has 24 years of teaching experience, has led four tours with Explorica and is bringing his students to Vimy 100, a commemorative event hosted by the Canadian government marking the 100thanniversary of the First World War and the Battle of Vimy Ridge Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,172],"tags":[331,332,378,58,412,128,172],"class_list":["post-3411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-explorica-news","category-teachers","tag-canadian-history","tag-canadian-history-tours","tag-commemorative-tours","tag-educational-travel","tag-group-leader","tag-student-travel","tag-teachers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3411"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3416,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3411\/revisions\/3416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}