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Brownsville Teacher Fundraises To Take Students To Spain, To Give An Invaluable Lesson

photo credit: Huffington Post English teacher Eric Jordan from the Frederick Douglass Academy VII in Brownsville, Brooklyn wants to teach his students an important lesson that textbooks cannot - by taking them to Spain, as aplus.com reports.
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photo credit: Huffington Post

English teacher Eric Jordan from the Frederick Douglass Academy VII in Brownsville, Brooklyn wants to teach his students an important lesson that textbooks cannot - by taking them to Spain, as aplus.com reports.

"There's no place in the world where I don't belong," is an invaluable experience the teacher hopes to share with his students.

Approximately 40 percent of the families in Brownsville live below the poverty line, and, with often lacking the means, many of the students have never owned passports or traveled far from home.  Yet, having had the potential life-altering experience of traveling and studying abroad himself, Jordan decided to plan the school's first international trip in four years.

Jordan says: "I spent almost a year in that country after college, and in my career as a teacher, I've always wanted to give away a sense of what it is like being abroad in a more meaningful way than sharing my dusty old stories."
To raise $34,000 to fund the trip, the teacher started a GoFundMe page in December 2016; as of April 11, the school has received $23,800. Yet, the goal actually is not for the students to travel for free, but for them to pay what they can.

"Together, we will make it possible for those who normally could not afford this journey to have the same exposure as others from more fortunate families," he explains. "And to be able to do this for students growing up in and around Brownsville, Brooklyn is even greater."  Jordan's ultimate hope is to see the all of the students to graduate with passports and life experiences.

In July the students will embark on an eight day tour of Spain, starting in Barcelona and ending in Madrid. During their trip the students will learn about history, geography, and different cultures.

Jordan emphasizes, "the idea that I had that there's no place in the world where I don't belong, I had to go there to get that experience and I want to offer that. It will be a pretty unforgettable kind of thing, and I don't think anyone will be quite the same after this trip."




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