Some teachers may struggle to make history come alive.
AP Art History and Senior Lit teacher Jean Peters, however, needs only to mention her experiences when describing exotic locations and art to her history students to make the lesson personal.
Peters has traveled extensively since 1981, spending time in Italy, England, Costa Rica, France, Greece, Ireland, Morocco, Egypt, Mexico, Israel and more.
“I call it the travel bug,” she said. “Once it bites you, it’s a lifelong, healthy addiction.”
Peters began her international trips during her junior year of college at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, during which she studied abroad in England and Florence, Italy. She then traveled to the Soviet Union. Upon departing from Europe, Peters smuggled out a small print of a piece her students study in AP Art History called the Vladimir Virgin.
Peters’ next major trip was to Israel and Egypt in 1983.
“Israel and Egypt were simply breathtaking. Israel was the first place that I actually thought about living,” Peters said.
Upon returning to the United States, Peters began her job at Lafayette. But even there the travel bug bit her again: she received a call from Lafayette’s French teacher, who had been told that she had to undergo emergency surgery just days before French students left for their annual trip to France and Amsterdam. Within 24 hours, Peters was ready to leave the country once more.
Throughout her travels, Peters has not only taken many of the photographs that form the basis of the projection slides of art that her AP Art History students study from, but gathered large amounts of knowledge and experience that manifest themselves in her teaching style.
“As a student [her experience] makes me respect her opinions about the topics we discuss. She isn’t just reading from a textbook, she has formed her own opinions based on her own experiences, which gives her credibility,” senior and AP Art History student Tori Holder said.
Holder also enjoys the confidential feeling of Peters’ travel anecdotes.
“I’ve always wanted to travel, but my favorite places she talks about are the ones that are off the beaten path. Tourist sights are one thing, but knowing about the obscure museums and towns, like Ms. Peters does, are even better,” Holder said.
Peters insists, however, that there is still more to be learned.
“Students say to me, ‘Ms. Peters, you’ve been everywhere!'” she said. “But I’ve never seen the Taj Mahal or been to Iran. It’s not all possible in this lifetime, especially with today’s events.”
Peters hopes to instill a love for seeing the world in her students as well.
“All my students that want to travel, I have faith in them,” she said. “I agree with Mark Twain that travel is one of the best ways to keep one from being provincial, and it is best done as a student.”
