Klavdija Podlesnik, Gimnazija in srednja kemijska šola Ruše, Ruše
Sanja Obaha, Srednja trgovska šola Maribor, Maribor
As teachers and organizers of school excursions, our goal is to make an excursion a trip, where students keenly explore the unknown, gain first-hand knowledge through traveller’s eyes, and actually experience the world around them. We present two types of excursions planned and carried out by students themselves who learned many life’s truths through laughter and fun. The first type of an excursion is a trip, planned, organized, and carried out by students under teacher’s control and guidance. Students also set goals and ways how to achieve them by themselves. The result showed that students knew more about beauties of nature and creations of men than on other occasions, since they were the ones looking for information about certain places attracting their attention for a whole month before the trip. Students were highly motivated through all stages of their work, cooperating with each other while planning the excursion and showing more unity as a class. The second type of an excursion is an example of intergenerational cooperation. Students/volunteers planned, organized, and carried out the excursion with the help of a mentor. They decided to organize a trip to the Primorska region and to see the retirement home on the other end of Slovenia. Students made a short presentation of school’s volunteering activity, followed by some cultural acts and performances. Later, we went on a walk around the touristy town of Portorož, the sightseeing also organized by students, thus ending our excursion by connecting volunteering activities and intergenerational cooperation with the natural and cultural tourist attractions of the Primorska region. Students had to divide the work, think about the scheduling and take into account the knowledge and skills of each participating volunteer. They gained new knowledge, organizational experiences, and an insight into the life in a retirement home, while brightening senior citizen’s everyday lives by performing and socializing. It can be concluded that students working in a group with the same objective surpass all of the goals set by a teacher, because while having fun they also gain experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
