Michael McLaughlin

Michael McLaughlin is head of the middle school at Austin Preparatory School in Reading, Massachusetts. In addition to his role as Head of Middle School, Michael oversees all of the major travel programs at Austin Prep and has been leading group tours since 2009. Under his leadership, Austin Prep has expanded the number and global reach of its travel programs and has been more intentional about giving meaning to those programs by tying them to the school’s Mission Statement and to the curriculum—including service trips to Peru, Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador, a week-long research trip to Bermuda for high school students, and the Grade 8 capstone trip to DC.

Why are you passionate about student travel?

My school’s patron, Saint Augustine, famously wrote, “the world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.” For me, it is core to our mission as an institution and to my vocation as an educator to introduce students to the world beyond our Willow Street campus. The best student travel has the capacity to be transformational. This energizes me as an educator and inspires my work. 

By carefully curating trips that expose students to diverse sights, sounds, flavors, and conversations and then thoughtfully connecting those experiences back to their studies on campus, I work to foster the development of their global literacy and their discovery about their own interests.

What is a major highlight from any of your student travel experiences?

For me, it has always been about the “tales from trails” that students remember and bring back. While famous sites and museums fill the day, it is often those interactive experiences where students connect with others that weave their way into the narrative. 

Here are just a few that come to mind: a scavenger hunt in the market of Cuzco market with the intention of gifting food to a shelter; hiking to the crater of Vesuvius or translating inscriptions in Pompeii; learning how to play cricket in the UK and then playing it in the park; delivering an art history talk in front of the original masterpieces in Florence; sampling an array of German chocolates and voting on our favorites; taking a surf lesson in the Tasman Sea and cheering on the Sydney Swans at a home match; performing for a standing-room crowd in Rome; and accompanying a classmate to pay respects at a gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery. 

What is the greatest lesson you or your students have learned from your trips?

If I could sum it up in a phrase, it would be an appreciation for the “joy of learning together.” I got into leading student groups because Danny in my sophomore history class said “Mr. McLaughlin, that was a great lesson, but it would be even better if we could see that out in the world.” Within a year, I had my first student travel program up and running, and it has been the joy of my life for the past 15 years. In that time, I’ve been blessed to experience 21 different countries to lead student tours and design curriculum, conduct research, and for personal enrichment. There is nothing quite like being under the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and unlocking the mysteries of Michelangelo’s art with another traveler – and learning from and listening to their thoughts and ideas. Traveling with student groups is incredibly enriching, and is something I treasure.

How do you try to tie your travel experiences back into the classroom?

This question cannot be answered without also considering how to tie the classroom into experiences out in the world. Ideally, there is a blend between the two. I’m really intentional about pre-trip preparation, and this has frequently taken the form of the creation of a course itself (i.e. 8th Grade Civics, the Holocaust Examined, Topics in Art History: The British Monarchy, Topics in Art History: The Renaissance) and then the course having a capstone travel experience. In this way, I’ve been able to assign readings, projects, and discussions that bridge the connection between the classroom and the “field” and have similarly created experiences and opportunities while out on the road that get students to think and expand upon our work together in the classroom. 

For me, travel is an incredible way to tie to our school’s mission “to inspire hearts to unite, minds to inquire, and hands to serve.” I approach all my work through the lens of mission – and that certainly extends to travel. Our school zeroes in on the “journey” and the pursuit of “veritas” (truth), “unitas” (community), and “caritas” (charity). I work to integrate these values into our experiences – from our efforts to ask questions, to be responsible, thoughtful visitors who come with a learning mindset, to finding opportunities to serve others. It is also important for students to take stock of the mile markers on their journey, and that happens through opportunities to reflect, look back, and celebrate the stories and travels we’ve enjoyed together. When everything goes through the prism of mission, the alignment between programs and curricular objectives is crystal clear!

From the Nominator:

What qualities make this nominee, both as an educator and travel leader, deserving of this award?

Michael has been leading student groups since 2009. As a teacher in Mississippi, his Art History course culminated in student trips to Italy where students presented their final papers in front of the very masterpieces of the Uffizi and Vatican galleries that they researched. Michael’s passport has been stamped in over 20 countries, both leading student groups but also visiting many of those places to explore them as destinations for student trips and to inform his own perspective on travel and the world which has enhanced his classes and his leadership of the travel programs at Austin Prep. Michael truly has a pulse on student travel. He speaks often about how travel is not transactional – it is transformative. Those experiences out in the world beyond the classroom are an opportunity to extend student learning and inform their work in school. Michael has presented and written about the importance of youth travel and has appeared on podcasts about experiential education, meaning that he is not just a practitioner in the field but is also contributing to the dialogue that empowers other teachers to journey with their students.