Teacher Testimonials
After each trip, we ask teachers to fill out a written evaluation form asking them to comment on their trip. Here are some comments from our education programs:
“Thank you for the learning journey you provided for our students. They had a wide range of positive learning experiences and at no time felt like a tourist on a package tour. They encountered a range of challenges and developed the confidence to face fears and broaden their understanding of the world. You did a great job considering our tight budget. My favourite thing was the rapport between Small World Journeys staff, students, and teachers – a collaborative approach. Guides were informative, friendly, and work well with students – always positive and enthusiastic. Will use you again, and know all are looking forward to it!”
–Jen Ramamurthy, teacher, The Ela Murray International School, Papua New Guinea (Nov ’11)
"You set high expectation of support and attention to detail and exceeded them. Our educational objectives were completely met on this trip. In terms of biology, the context was provided for all of the ecology theory they had learned. The Barrier Reef is an amazing classroom! Maggie [our marine biologist guide] was inspirational. She was fantastic in all areas. She connected well to the kids and engaged and enthused them. Martin was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour. You exceeded all my expectations and gave myself and the students the rich learning and life experiences we had hoped for."
–Darren Smith, biology teacher, Gore High School, New Zealand (July '11)
"Alan [Small World Journeys guide] is the man! He’s a terrific teacher. He shared tremendous amounts of knowledge. He was flexible and understood when students needed a swimming break. The order of the itinerary had a great flow and we never felt rushed. We appreciate your flexibility with itinerary adjustments --excellent professionalism and customer service before and during the trip. Very thorough and prompt with answering email. We love the field guides you gave the group!”
-Courtney F. and Tiffani K., Student Trip Coordinators, San Diego, USA (March ’11)
"Cultural, Community Service and Pure Fun – all of these goals were met! I cannot thank you enough for supporting me in creating a trip that catered to our group's needs. Your organisation was faultless and allowed me a generally stress-free time so that I was able to better enjoy the company of my students. Our guide Mark was PURE AWESOMENESS. I was most impressed with the regular communication and the overall execution of the trip. I have received such wonderful feedback from parents saying this was a 'life-changing experience'. Because I was able to focus on my students and not the day to day organisation – the teacher/student relationship has strengthened in ways I didn't think was possible. Thank you for investing the time and effort in helping to make this happen."
-Laura Roberts, teacher, Central Coast Steiner School (Nov '10)
"I wanted to thank you so much for all the support you gave to me both before and during our recent trip. If others choose to follow the direction I took with future trips I will not hesitate to put them in contact with you. The kids, affectionately, have dubbed you 'Terri Irwin' and they send their thanks also for making this trip such an experience for them. They, and I, would also like you to pass on our thanks and gratitude to [Small World Journeys guide] Rick. I think all the students would agree that their trip would not have been the same without him."
--Anna Robinson, Teacher, Goulburn, NSW (Sept '10)
"From start to finish, this was a very professional service. The two guides were wonderful naturalists and we enjoyed our days with them – Liz was impressed by their knowledge. You found just the right types of activities and level of quality we desired. [The reef boat] was a lovely boat – just right for us. We appreciated your flexibility and willingness to adjust our schedule on the fly. Excellent service and knowledge about eco-travel."
–David Schanzer and Liz Losos, Professors - Duke University, USA (July '10)
"Thank you for planning such an amazing trip! You worked with us to arrange the activities we wanted, and you are very helpful, friendly and greatly organized. We appreciate how hard you worked on our itinerary. We felt really prepared and appreciated things like the packing list and suggested reading materials. We had a awesome time.”
-Julia Swearingen, teacher, Winding Creek School, USA (June '10)
"We loved [our Small World Journeys Australian guide] Mark!” He was helpful, knowledgeable, flexible and fun. He did a phenomenal job. We learned a great deal about the culture, people and environment. We will remember this trip for a lifetime. It was simply amazing!."
-Kimberly Bearden, teacher and co-founder, The Ron Clark Academy (Apr '10)
"This trip covered our core subject areas--social/cultural, biological/environmental, historical—and more. Small World Journeys overdelivered and were very well organized. I feel we didn’t just receive great service but made great friends."
-Mehari Kassa, teacher, The Ron Clark Academy (Apr '10)
"Thanks for making our students holiday program a success! I appreciated how you created a custom trip just for our students – the tree planting, visit to the outback homestead, beach party and BBQ--it was clear how much care you took into planning the activities and service project. The kids especially loved the reef trip, swimming in the waterfalls and learning to throw boomerangs. Thanks for making my job easier, and for being patient with our questions and worries. We will definitely plan our trip with Small World Journeys next year!"
- Saniya Muller, International Student Program Manager, Trinity Bay High School (Sept '09)
