About Our Annual Month-Long High School Seniors’ Trip to India

Inspired by the work of J. Krishnamurti, an Oak Grove School education seeks to cultivate in students sensitivity and awareness of their relationship to themselves, each other, and the world.  Beginning in early childhood, OGS students understand they are part of something bigger than their classrooms, and that we all share responsibility for our global community. This is reflected on a daily basis and during outdoor education trips. Nowhere is this better expressed than in the annual month-long high school seniors trip to India.

For the past 20 years, thanks to the continuing support of AGET (an independent charitable organization that underwrites a portion of the trip), Oak Grove seniors have spent the end of December and the majority of January visiting Krishnamurti schools in Chennai, Rishi Valley, and Bangalore as well as traveling to cities and rural communities. Students participate in the daily life of Oak Grove’s sister schools and volunteer for projects such as environmental sustainability or reforestation efforts.

Preparation and follow-up for the trip is incorporated into the student’s interdisciplinary English and World Cultures courses and is a culminating rite of passage for Oak Grove secondary students. A community service project is also a fundamental part of this trip’s purpose. During the year, seniors work diligently to earn $1,000 through sales and events in order to fund School in a Box – a comprehensive educational program that provides elementary school children in India an education for an entire year. Past graduates of Oak Grove describe the lasting effects of their travel experience in India, especially focusing on the sense of gratitude they continue to carry with them, the awareness of taking nothing for granted, and the desire to live more simply.