My college winter breaks were spent catching up on sleep and studying for finals: booorring! Students today have many more options than I did. My son, who attended Oberlin College, introduced me to their “Winter Term,” where students take a course or volunteer in an organization that has nothing to do with their normal academic pursuits. January, therefore, became a time of growth for him, and not a month of stagnation. Students in all colleges and universities have many more options than I did; study abroad programs include several opportunities for two or three weeks abroad during the semester hiatus. This has the advantage of being shorter and less expensive than summer or spring break trips abroad — and January in a foreign country is a month blessedly free of other tourists.
| This weekly column looks at lists of books kids are reading in various categories. Information on the books below came from Amazon.com’s list of best-sellers; they are listed in order of popularity. |
| Books on volunteer vacations |
| Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others by Bill McMillon, Doug Cutchins, Anne Geissinger and Ed Asner |
| The 100 Best Volunteer Vacations to Enrich Your Life by Pam Grout |
| Frommer’s 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference by Andrew Mersmann |
| Volunteer Vacations Across America: Immersion Travel USA by Sheryl Kayne |
| How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas by Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, Zahara Heckscher and Frances Lappe |
| Mapping Your Volunteer Vacation by Jane Stanfield and Rhonda Taylor |
| Volunteer: A Traveler’s Guide to Making a Difference Around the World (Lonely Planet) by Charlotte Hindle, Nate Cavalieri, Rachel Collinson, Korina Miller and Mike Richard |
| The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures: Internships, Summer Jobs, Seasonal Work, Volunteer Vacations, and Transitions Abroad by Michael Landes |
Organizations like i-to-i Volunteer Travel arrange vacation/volunteer experiences for students who want to both travel and do good works during their vacations. The International Volunteer Programs Association promotes access to those considering volunteering abroad or organizations wishing to develop those opportunities.
Habitat for Humanity provides opportunities, both domestic and abroad, for students (from age 16 and up) to repair homes damaged by fire or flood, or to build schools, hospitals and homes in areas where there is dire need. (Last October you may have seen photos of former President Carter, who has been actively involved with this organization, helping to build a home in the D.C. area.) Break Away is a group that helps students organize service trips, as is Campus Compact, which coordinates the efforts of more than 1,100 schools offering alternative break plans for students.
What are the benefits for students? I have always lobbied for the value of real-world experiences in both high school and college. Locking yourself in an academic ivory tower is not the way to develop skills that will put your education to use. Employers are looking for graduates who show up on time, can focus on a task, and work hard to complete it; that applies to bartending, fixing computer glitches, writing for a deadline or building schools in Ghana. All work experience is valuable in developing habits of responsibility.
Additionally, students claim over and over that they’re bored by school, bored at home, bored during vacations. Our perceptions of the passage of time really do depend on how old we are. Studies of people isolated in stimulus-free rooms have revealed that for younger participants time moves more slowly than it does for older participants.
There is nothing boring about traveling or volunteering — or a combination of both. There will be few opportunities for mindless television watching or video game playing. Students will keep their bodies and brains active during breaks when they otherwise might allow themselves to be overtaken by inertia.
Alternatives to semester breaks have benefits far beyond the very real contributions students will make to our society and to global understanding; in personal terms, these activities will be healthy for both body and mind. And they will add necessary skills to any student’s evolving code of ethics and responsibility. The world needs more altruism rather than less, and this is one step toward making that happen.
Erica Jacobs, whose column appears Wednesday, teaches at George Mason University. E-mail her at [email protected]
