Teachers always do their best within the classroom, but actual learning happens outside those four walls during excursions, says Sherielyn Choi, an English teacher at the all-girls secondary school, Canossa College, in Hong Kong.
"Excursions offer valuable hands-on learning opportunities and help students consolidate (巩固) what they learn at a theoretical level in class," Choi says. "Additionally, every time our students return from their excursions, I observe that they improve socially and emotionally, with better communication and cooperation skills."
She speaks from fresh experience since her students recently took part in the educational tour, "Macau Unlocked: A Journey of Discovery for Students 2023-2024", jointly organised by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and South China Morning Post.
The day trip has been specially designed for young people to help them learn about Macao's rich history, vibrant (充满活力的) culture and sustainable practices.
Jayde e Lai, a Year 11 student at Canossa College, says, "I'd never been to Macao before the tour, so as a newcomer, I felt that the tour did a good job of compacting (压缩) Macao's 400-year history into a day's event. I definitely learned a lot of fun facts, history and culture of Macao."
The tour was led by experienced MGTO tour guides, who are knowledgeable about Macao's history and culture. Students taking part in the tour went to many historic sites that are not often visited, including the Old City Walls, Natacha Temple, the Ruins of St. Paul's, Macao Museum and Mount Fortress.
Lai says she was most fascinated to learn about some of Macao's sustainable practices. "Besides the exhibits in the Macao Tea Culture House, we also learned how tea leaf residues (残渣) are recycled to produce items such as cups and even furniture," she says. "We were asked to smell these products, and they really do smell like tea!"
Choi feels it is great that her students had the opportunity to go on such an interesting tour. "They were talking excitedly about the activities they did and I think it really helped to arouse their curiosity," she says. "Excursions are truly necessary for students to become well-rounded individuals."
