Tips and Tricks for Traveling with Your Students

Alex Roesser, Teacher

As an educator who has also logged over 50,000 miles with her students, I have picked up a few tricks on the road for managing and running trips smoothly. The first rule to abide by is Murphy’s Law, meaning that things can, and will, go wrong. However, with the right attitude, copious amounts of planning, and a few tips from a student travel expert, you can be prepared for whatever Murphy (or Caden, Aiden, and Jaden) has in store for you.

1. Take Attendance with Numbers, Not Names

Before you leave, make an alphabetical attendance list of your travelers and have them memorize the number that is next to their name. When it’s time to take attendance, students will loudly call out their numbers in order. This is so much more efficient than repeating, “Bueller? Bueller? Are you there?

2. Know Your Students’ Medical Concerns 
Check with your school to see their policy about administering medication away from school or home. Most schools will say that students need to have any prescriptions in a labeled bottle, and that chaperones need to administer them. You may also need to get written parental permission for over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin or motion sickness relief. Additionally, you need to be aware of any students’ allergies. In a time of crisis, you don’t want to second guess whether the student needs an epi-pen. Make a confidential spreadsheet that all chaperones have to carry.

3. Bring Garbage Bags
When traveling by bus, students seem to think that the vehicle is magically cleaned by bus fairies who will carry away their rubbish. Bring a roll of garbage bags and walk up and down aisles every few hours so students can dispose of trash on a regular basis. The bags are also helpful in case a student becomes ill. This is a lesson I learned first-hand this past year when six students got the Norovirus on a trip to Washington, DC.

4. Drink Water and Avoid Junk
We have a standing rule when we travel: no food on the bus unless we provide it. No one wants to smell teriyaki beef jerky and sour cream chips wafting to the front of the bus. Tell students that snacks are to be packed in their suitcases for the hotel only. Not only does it cut down on gross smells, it will help keep your bus cleaner. We buy cases of water and granola snacks for students to have when they need them. The water also helps students from getting dehydrated and keeps their energy levels more stable. Trust me, if you give a child an opportunity to drink nothing but pop for 3 days straight, they’ll do it like it’s their job.

5. Be Strict About Time
Being on time to meeting points is essential to a smoothly-running trip. If you are late for appointments, tours, or reservations, your group will quickly earn a reputation as one that people do not want to work with. Have students set alarms on their cell phones and be serious about consequences. Ours is one night of detention for every minute late. We rarely have students late because of the importance that we place on this virtue.

6. Have a Healthy Sense of Humor and Gratitude
During the previously mentioned trip to DC, I was in a parking lot cleaning a child’s vomit off my bookbag when I had to step back and laugh at my situation. If you are wound too tightly, you will ruin the travel experience for your students, many of whom have worked very hard to attend. No matter what’s happening, take a minute to step back and realize that you’re providing a wonderful opportunity for your students—even if one gets their knee caught in the Capitol railing, causing a major security concern. (Also true!)

Enjoy your students on the road, and also make sure that they are getting the most out of their experiencing by utilizing these tips from a veteran traveler.