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10 new year’s resolutions for students
Inspire creativity and curiosity with resolutions by favorite school subject
January marks a fresh start, motivating us to start the new year with a positive and inspired mindset. For teachers (and EF!), it’s an exciting time to find new experiential learning opportunities. And for students—many of whom will be handed a new class schedule when they return from winter break—January is a chance to dive into new topics within familiar subjects, and possibly even spark a future hobby or career. Below are a few school-inspired new year’s resolutions for students.
LITERATURE
New year’s resolutions for students who want to expand their personal libraries
1 / Partner with local libraries or English teachers to help discover new authors and genres.
2 / Set a goal to read a new book every month, season, or year.
Start with one of the greats
Encourage your students to read stories by and about Toni Morrison, a novelist and Nobel Prize winner who helped pave the way for an ever-growing body of contemporary African American literature. To get started, read this piece, co-authored by both the Nobel Prize Museum and EF as part of a larger book titled Nobel Journeys.
SCIENCE
New year’s resolutions for students who want to make a meaningful difference in their communities
3 / Volunteer with an existing organization focused on conservation efforts.
4 / Start a community service project, like adding more recycling bins to the school halls, planting trees in a local park, or organizing monthly beach cleanups.
Make a difference in communities everywhere
On EF’s Service Learning tours, students have the opportunity to participate in hands-on projects that benefit the local community. For example, on Community Development in Peru’s Mountain Villages, tour activities focus on restoring local schools and building hand-washing stations.
LUNCH
New year’s resolutions for students who self-identify as foodies
5 / Choose a monthly international dish to make at home (from scratch).
6 / Find nearby restaurants the serve authentic, international cuisine.
Inspire an appetite for more
If students are looking for a recipe to kick off their journey toward trying new foods, where better place to start than with dessert? We recommend baking this pastéis de nata recipe, a twist on EF’s favorite Portuguese custard tarts (whose original recipe is highly classified) from Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon.
HISTORY
New year’s resolutions for students who wish they could travel back in time
7 / Some of the most unique perspectives can come from family or community members, so cultivate these stories and document them in a journal, video diary, or notes app.
8 / Set a goal to visit a certain amount of museums by next year, and focus on exploring new-to-you areas of art and history.
Meet heroes who lived through history
Thanks to our partnership with the Honor Flight Network, students on some of our Washington, D.C. tours can connect with U.S. veterans to hear about their experience firsthand and personally thank them for their service.
MATH
New year’s resolutions for students who want to lead the charge in global engineering or technology
9 / Research the reasoning behind the designs and functions of local buildings and brainstorm how they could be improved.
10 / See architecture through a more creative lens (literally) by taking an online class focused on street photography, or by connecting with a local photographer on a guided tour.
See tomorrow’s technology on display today
Tokyo is leading the charge in global engineering technology, and your students have the opportunity to see and experience the excitement firsthand on EF’s tour Robotics, Engineering, and the Future of Cities in Japan. They’ll partake in immersive projects focused on robot and magnetic technology, car and building manufacturing, and space exploration.
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