“...the idealism of youth is the world’s greatest asset. We can capitalize on this idealism. We can demonstrate the deep spiritual aspects of this work. We can show the unlimited possibilities of a program which can eventually encompass all the peoples of the world.”
- Walter Mohr, ffac, 1951

Following World War II, history teacher Walter Mohr clearly envisioned the power behind exposing his students to the tangible evidence that war wrought on humanity. Granted a year-long sabbatical to serve with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) relief program in post-war Europe, Walter was tasked with seeking German schools with which George School could potentially establish a relationship–and a role in the post-war reconciliation with a former enemy. The school was determined to make the connection between schools spiritual as well as material, and two-way rather than one-sided. The goal was simple and profound: “to help lessen the causes of conflict among nations.” 

Partnerships were developed with two German schools, Jacobi Gymnasium for boys in Düsseldorf and the Gertraudenschule for girls in Berlin, and a total of eighteen students soon traveled to work alongside German students on rebuilding projects.

The trips became known as “work camps,” and for the next several decades, they were extended beyond Germany into other European countries, and eventually into Africa and South America. They centered on providing an experience deeper than simply visiting a new country, and more meaningful than a few days of work to assist in the area; students were challenged to gain a deeper understanding of the expansiveness of their world and their own place in it. The “work camps” provided them the opportunity to support communities in need, overcome cultural barriers, and participate in peace building activities to enrich their lives and the lives of others.

Today, George School no longer conducts “work camp” trips, but remains committed to experiential learning and service, with over 100 students participating in courses that involve elements of interdisciplinary coursework, service, and travel in the past year. These opportunities are structured in ways that demand personal reflection and investment from students, a willingness to be uncomfortable, the ability to be open and aware, and the self-knowledge to recognize individual strengths and how they may be used to impact the world around them in significant ways.

L-R: (1) boys work with students from the Jacobi Gymnasium School in Düsseldorf in 1947 to clear rubble from their old school building; (2) by 1950, George School girls traveled, along with German and French students, to aid Eastern European refugees; (3) in February 2023, George School students create a podcast to share the stories of refugee artists living in Athens, Greece; (4) George School students partner with Filia School in South Africa to complete a playground project.

"Travel at George School is about much more than community service,” explains Meredith Baldi ’01, Director of Service Learning. “It is about diving deep into understanding structural issues in our world, thinking about how you might improve those issues, and what the limits are. It is about learning more about the self, what you can contribute, and what you need to work on.”

After the global pandemic prohibited travel for almost three years, and with the implementation of the Signature Academic Program in the 2022-2023 school year, there was a fresh opportunity to think about the next evolution of experiential and service learning. Instead of offering trips only during school breaks, travel and service are now also incorporated into academic courses. Some are interdisciplinary, allowing students to gain credits in two disciplines (i.e. history and language or art and science); many have a service component connected to them. 

The five-week term allows for intensive classroom learning for two weeks preceding travel; offering thorough academic context for what the students will be experiencing, including the history and culture of the particular country or population. Students working at an orphanage in Vietnam, for example, will be taught the reasons the US used Agent Orange and its impact; those traveling to Greece to work with refugee populations will learn how something like the Dublin Agreement and the current economic crisis in Greece shape the response to the refugee crisis. After two weeks out of the classroom, students return to campus ready to share reflections about their experiences.

“Experiential learning is so much more powerful when students have an academic foundation before they start the work and time structured at the end to process their experiences,” Meredith explained.

Over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, students traveled to Greece, Tanzania, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Italy, Turkey, and South Africa. Experiential learning courses closer to home included travel to Philadelphia and right around the corner in Newtown.

L-R: (1) Before traveling to work with refugees in Greece, students learn about the refugee experience, including tracing travel routes; (2) students work on art projects with children staying in refugee camp; (3) in Tanzania, students experience wildlife in their natural habitats; (4) upon return to campus, student travel groups reflect and share what they have experienced and learned.

“We are building our offerings for service courses so that students can participate in service learning that is related to their academic passions and interests with a range of locations,” explained Meredith. “Students love trips, but not everyone wants to or is able to travel all the way across the world. We want students to be connected to our local community. It is as rewarding for students to engage with the residents of Newtown as those in Tanzania.”

“Building international understanding is a slow and sometimes discouraging experiment,” said Walter back in 1947. “One meets prejudices, provincialism, traditionalism, conservatism, and sheer inertia. The work is undramatic, sometimes routine, and often uninspiring. Yet it is the one way which promises the greatest rewards.”

"The most important part of our travel program stems from a legacy of wanting our students not just to learn abstractly, but directly though experience,” shared Meredith. “Understanding our world directly, not just through a textbook, increases our level of care and commitment to the people and places around us. The relationships we form are long-lasting, and understanding global issues from a lived and seen place of understanding helps cultivate a desire for our students and alumni to promote peace and justice throughout their lives."

In 1992, in The History of George School, Kingdon W. Swayne ’37 remarked, “Forty years later, George School can say to Walter Mohr: The road is still tough, but it is getting easier, both logistically and spiritually. George School has not tired of the task, but is doing more than ever. International experiences and domestic work experiences that cross cultural lines have gone their separate ways, but now all of our students are exposed to one or the other. And the campus itself has become a vastly more diverse place than you could have imagined. We have great hopes and plans for the next forty years.”

Just over forty years later, George School can say to Kingdon: our commitment to global learning persists; its importance and value is recognized; and our faculty continues to adapt and expand the curriculum around these experiences that prepare and empower their students to find their place—to “let their lives speak”—in an ever-changing world.