All Articles In Opinions & Advice
5 Ways Dartmouth College is a Sustainability Leader
We are really excited to be able to run our Environmental Leadership Academy at Dartmouth College. We think it’s a really unique way for high school students interested in sustainability to explore that interest, enhance their understanding of the subject matter, develop an idea for a sustainability initiative, and have a lot of fun while… Read More
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What is service learning?
Many people are familiar with the term “service learning,” which, at least in an international context, is perhaps best understood as “voluntourism” or volunteering abroad with an explicitly educational bent. However, most people aren’t familiar with the term “learning service.” This post will explore the question, “What is service learning?” by attempting to reimagine a… Read More
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How To Choose a High School Service Trip
In my previous two posts, on the Truth About Service Learning and the Problems and Controversies of Volunteering Abroad, I discussed some of the issues and inconvenient truths associated with many students’ inherent desires to travel abroad to “do good” on a high school service trip. Some of the issues I focused on include: The reality… Read More
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The Truth About Service Learning Programs for High School Students
Service learning. Voluntourism. Whatever name you prefer, I refer in this post to travel programs that take students to a developing country to perform community service work. The type of work varies greatly by program, but often includes light construction projects, painting or cleaning a school, teaching kids English, or other similar tasks. I think… Read More
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Volunteer Abroad Programs Reviews: Criticism, Controversy, and other Considerations
In a companion post on the subject of volunteer abroad programs for high school students, I suggested that students who really want to “make a difference” in the lives of others should volunteer locally instead of traveling abroad to do community service. I asserted that “voluntourism” is really about feeling good about yourself and gaining some… Read More
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What are the best summer abroad programs for high school students (Reviews/Ratings)?
How to Choose a Summer Abroad Program There are a lot of summer abroad programs for high school students. Teens have never had as many options for a summer abroad experience. So, how do you choose from all of the different summer abroad programs out there? We’ve worked in this field for a long time… Read More
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Best of Ecuador
I recently returned from yet another trip to Ecuador (my third in the last 12 months). I love the country for so many reasons, and every trip I discover something or somewhere new that keeps me coming back time and time again. I thought I’d put together my personal “best of Ecuador” list. I haven’t… Read More
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College Admissions: The Environmental College Essay
For all you high school seniors – and the guidance counselors, parents, and college advisers supporting them – this post is for you. Well, this post is really for the student with a strong interest in sustainability as a focus of his or her college experience and that is considering using an environmental college essay… Read More
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This Thanksgiving, Give Composting a Try
It’s nearly Thanksgiving, which means in the coming days, many of us will be busy preparing and consuming decadent and delicious feasts. It also means some of us will find ourselves with an alarming quantity of food waste to dispose of, so we here at Sustainable Summer thought the time was ripe for a blog… Read More
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What is the best Galapagos summer program?
With more than 15 different organizations offering Galapagos summer programs for high school students, you might be asking yourself which one is the best. Of course, “best” is a subjective term and there are a variety of different criteria you may want to consider if you, like many high school students, want to see the… Read More
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