Since announcing our family’s decision to embark upon a yearlong trip around the world, people have had lots of questions. I thought it’d be helpful to synchronize us all by posing and answering them here.
Thank you for the show of support. Even if you just had a personal reflective moment of “wow”... I’m really grateful for that. I look forward to sharing our journey: what we learn, what we discover, the highs, the lows, and at times, the math.
A friendly reminder that we’ll be posting on Instagram @unityfamilytravels, where we’ve invited friends and family to join us virtually. You can click “Follow” on that, or if you're not on Instagram, you're warmly invited to visit www.instagram.com/unityfamilytravels every now and then.
Logistics questions
When are you leaving, and for how long?
We depart June 19th, and as of now, plan to be out of the country for about 10 months.
Where are you going?
June through August: South Pacific region; including Fiji, Australia, Bali, and Singapore
September through January: Europe; including Greece, Croatia, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and a stint in London
January through April-ish: South America; including Argentina, Columbia, and still deciding
To education partners at/near those places, please reach out! Maybe we can set up a visit?
Work-based questions
Will you be working?
Yes! Yay Math has given me the incredible opportunity to personally work with students from much of the US and sometimes internationally. More than half my tutoring families and I use Skype to connect.
Beginning in the fall, I’m slating all of Saturday and Sunday (US times) to work with students. If you’d like for us to work together, please feel free to reply so that we can make arrangements.
Are you going to be posting Yay Math videos?
I would very much like to. I’m optimistic that I will. But I’ve decided to let it go and see what presents itself as video-worthy. (It would be so cool to get clips that capture math and/or human connections with people from around the world.) I ultimately think that if I prioritize having a transcendent family experience, then all goodness will blossom out of that, including .mov files.
Will Yay Math still have its full curricula available for purchase?
Yes! Every day, I’ve been migrating the existing Algebra 2 and Geometry courses to a sleek online format. It’s very special and I’m really proud of what it’s shaping up to be.
I faced down the Algebra 1 lion, and regrettably, I have come to the realization that I'm unable to have the full Algebra 1 course ready by the upcoming school year. I really wanted it done, and I worked so hard to bring it to life. Alas it’s not in the cards, and despite my personal ambitions, I have to wait. I’m sorry if you were hoping for it for the upcoming fall. Just wanted to share the information now so that if you need an Algebra 1 curriculum, you have some lead time until fall to obtain one.
Taking a step back, it’s been a trying process to find my peace with this reality. What’s been really helpful are the lessons learned from my "academic crush" (unbeknownst to him), Simon Sinek, in his breakdown of “The Finite Game” vs. “The Infinite Game.” I highly recommend this talk, and I believe it to be life changing. (The message from the 7:45 to 8:30 mark especially strikes a chord within me. I hope it does for you too.)
Family based questions
Are you worried that your kids won’t remember the trip?
No. We acknowledge that some specifics of the travels may be cast into the subconscious ether. What intrigues us is tapping into that subconscious ether itself. Through our travels, we hope to foster values such as:
a deepened sense of perspective
a general curiosity about things
activity over complacency
flexibility over comfort zones
stimulation of the brain, heart, and senses
appreciation for all forms of “otherness”… and by extension, the establishment of oneness
Are you worried about safety?
To an extent. With young daughters, we’re doing our part to make plans ahead of time and make common sense decisions. But ultimately we’re going to live life. The prevailing feeling is that it’ll feel a lot different out there, and our choices won’t be made using Liam Neeson movies as the subconscious barometer.
If you have other questions or ideas, please feel free to reply right to this message. I read everything sent.
Warmly,
Robert