Traveling and Teaching

Cristina and I are both teachers. I teach Digital Graphics and Web Design to seniors and juniors while Cristina teaches World Geography to freshmen. We are lucky in that travel allows us both to be better at our jobs.

Since I teach Photoshop, all the pictures we take on our travels can be used in my classroom. For not having any formal training, Cristina has a good eye for composition…better than I do. Her pictures allow me to discuss the rule of thirds and the golden ratio. I show them the camera we use and then discuss the types of camera out there including cell phone cameras. The London rain allows me to show them how to color correct. Now, I could do this with pictures I Google gank. However, that’s stealing. Inevitably, the questions go beyond the subject of my class.  They start asking about history, art, architecture, economics, and world geography.

For Cristina, it’s easy to make the connection between our favorite hobby and her job. Instead of pulling off pictures off the internet for her PowerPoints, she just needs to look on her external hard drive. The difference it makes to her kids is amazing. Their eyes light up and then ask, “Did you really go there?”  Students suddenly become aware of how big, and small, the world is. They realize, some for the first time, that someday they may get to go to these places. For them, they are now one degree of separation from Paris, Prague, or the Panama Canal.

Now, does anyone know if we can write off our trips on our taxes?