- Faculty; On Location
When Robert Wheeler, an instructor at SNHU Seacoast, says the world is the classroom, he means it. Last winter he took SNHU students on a class trip to Paris. Wheeler and his students explored the way the city and its artists influenced the young Ernest Hemingway’s writing style during the 1920s. As well, Wheeler organized a day trip to Normandy Beach; after all, Hemingway was a part of the landing on D-Day.
“Paris’s left bank is the place to go, especially if you’re going to study Hemingway and read 'A Moveable Feast',” says Wheeler. “The most fun was simply conversing and speaking with the students all evening about what they learned. That is exactly how we must grow and stay connected.”
Wheeler breaks down barriers between the classroom and the sensory world every chance he gets.
“If we’re reading a book about Spain and the characters are tasting a local soup and they’re having an amazing conversation over the soup, I’ll bring the ingredients in and we’ll make the soup and have our own amazing conversation,” explains Wheeler. “If a character is drinking a certain wine made in Italy, I’ll bring it in so we can smell it and taste it
The trip to Paris and the in-class culinary adventures are all part of Wheeler’s push to open students’ eyes as to the connections between what they’re studying and what they could be living.
"I have an open door policy—open the door and go!”
