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Travel Has Long Been an Elite Educational Advantage. Public Schools Can Change That.

For generations, travel and experiential education have been quiet advantages of growing up with financial means. Public schools can help democratize those experiences and give more students the confidence, adaptability and cultural fluency they will need in an A.I.-driven economy.

For generations, international travel, summer programs and other forms of experiential education have been subtle advantages of growing up with financial means. Families with greater financial resources can give their children opportunities to spend time in unfamiliar places, encounter different places, practice languages and develop confidence outside familiar environments. These are all experiences that can be difficult to recreate in a classroom and even harder to access for families who cannot afford them. 

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In an A.I. driven economy, those experiences are becoming more consequential. As artificial intelligence and automation reshape the workforce, young people will need distinctly human skills: the ability to think critically, adapt, communicate across differences, work through ambiguity, approach problems with curiosity and creativity and exercise judgment. If these experiences help young people develop the skills they need to thrive in an A.I.-driven economy, then shouldn’t every student have the opportunity to develop them? 

Public school students deserve equitable access to those opportunities, both domestically and internationally. Travel gives students a chance to put these skills under pressure in the real world. It asks them to step outside what is familiar, engage with people whose cultures, histories, perspectives and lived experiences may differ from their own, solve problems independently and see the world from different perspectives. Those experiences can shape not only how students understand the world, but how confidently they see themselves moving through it.

International travel offers a particularly powerful opportunity for young people to experience another culture firsthand, navigate new languages and customs and develop a broader understanding of the world. But global citizenship is not defined by how far a student travels. Meaningful experiences across the United States can also expose students to new histories, communities,........

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