Lord, he was born a ramblin’ man.

Walk into David Platt’s classroom at Lawrence High School and see pictures from at least three continents not our own. In one, a student poses with a white-haired Scottish man in a kilt; in another, a student smiles atop Mount Waynapicchu in Peru; another shows a group of students before the Nile River. If Platt wasn’t behind the camera, he was somewhere close by.

Platt, LHS geography and psychology teacher and boys soccer coach, has been taking his students on worldwide adventures since 1997. By now he’s developed a habit in his travels: every summer Europe, and every other summer Australia or Africa. Yes, that’s two trips per year.

“It’s an opportunity not only to open my eyes, but to open their eyes to different world situations,” Platt said. “It’s a win-win situation, for them and for me.”

This summer Platt will take students on a “World War II lover’s dream” in Europe in June, followed by a trip to South Africa in July. Most of the people who go on Platt’s trips are his students, many in the Geography Club, but any LHS student can go. He’s taking some alumni to Africa this summer. Lacey Elmore, a recent LHS graduate, went to Europe last summer with Platt and will go with him and about 30 other students to South Africa this summer.

Students from Lawrence High School will travel to Africa this summer with teacher David Platt. From left, David Liston, Platt and Nicole Kennedy talk about plans for the trip.

“I won’t have another opportunity in life to go to Africa,” she said. Since finding out her sophomore year that Platt took trips to the continent, she’s wanted to go, she said.

Platt’s trip to South Africa will be the seventh time he’s taken students to the continent. He’s lost track of how many times he’s taken them to Europe.

Platt said his trips were a big part of his classes.

“When we get back, I get the underclassmen back into other classes to share their insights with the community,” he said. His students have visited elementary schools, a junior high and other classes in their building. They’ve developed temporary Web pages to describe their trips. Platt’s next goal is to make these methods of sharing, as through Web sites, more permanent.

One of Platt’s highlights of traveling with his students is the increased interaction with them.

“Last year I got to go bungee jumping with the captain of the soccer team – that was pretty exciting,” he said. “It usually changes my relationships with students a lot, because we have that shared experience.”

Photos and clippings detail Lawrence High School teacher David Platt's 1997 trip to Africa. Platt will take a group to South Africa in July.

Platt said that following some of his trips, he’s seen changes in students’ life decisions and views.

“The experience is incredible, but watching what kids do with their experience after they get back is better,” he said.

Platt plans his trips through EF Educational Tours, which offers discounted travel and hotel rates for student groups. The EF itinerary Platt chose for this year’s Europe trip will last 13 days, traveling through Berlin, Prague, Munich, Lucerne and Paris. The trip to South Africa will last 16 days, visiting Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Swaziland, Kruger National Park and Johannesburg. Platt’s trips usually cost between $2,000 and $3,000.

“The problem is, some of these things I do are pretty expensive – but I plan about a year ahead so students can find a way to pay for them, like with summer jobs,” Platt said.

He said traveling is a part of him.

“My true love for travel came from my dad, who used to pack us in a car and just go,” Platt said. “I absolutely love doing this.”