The World Is Our Classroom

Bronze Medal, Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition, Society of American Travel Writers

"Cindy Ross is one of today's most eloquent and thoughtful writers on the connection between humans and the natural world."—Richard Louv, New York Times bestselling author

Cindy's story begins in the Rocky Mountain wilderness on a unique and extraordinary journey: two parents leading their young children 3,100 miles on the backs of llamas. This Canada-Mexico trek illustrated to Cindy and her husband what experiential education can do. Inspired by the experience, they went on to create a new way of supplementing their children’s education, focusing on two arenas for learning: the natural world and travel.

In this age of world connection, it is important to raise broad-minded and empathetic children who are knowledgeable about other cultures. To accomplish this goal, Cindy chose an unorthodox approach: she orchestrated learning opportunities for her children, Sierra and Bryce, in twelve countries. The family traveled the world, moving about on foot and bicycle, living simply and intimately. But just as important, and more accessible for many parents, were the opportunities for learning closer to home.

These adventures brought intangible gifts: values--such as compassion, empathy, resilience, self-reliance, and gratitude, among others--not always fostered in a traditional curriculum but crucially important to raising children.

By sharing her story, along with honest insights from her children about the importance of their unusual education, Cindy aims to empower parents to believe they can be their children's best and most important educators. It is for parents who are seeking inspiration, who love a good story, and who are looking for an unorthodox way to raise the happiest, healthiest, and brightest children they can.

Cindy Ross has written about raising children alternatively, via outdoor adventures and travel, for a variety of publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the Toronto Star, and Backpacker magazine. The author of six published books, she has lectured on the virtues of this educational approach and its effects on children’s creative minds and their thirst for learning for twenty-five years. Cindy lives in New Ringgold, Pennsylvania.

"Not many authors are able to successfully combine a travel book with a book of parenting advice. Cindy Ross is an exception. With her husband, daughter and son, Ross created a classroom based on residing in nature, not only across the United States, but in other nations as well. Certainly not every family could muster the flexibility, the courage and the finances to experience such a journey. For readers who will never accomplish what Ross accomplished, the book is a wonderful adventure to be enjoyed vicariously. The family photographs add a layer of richness that is touching."—The Society of American Travel Writers

"Cindy Ross is one of today's most eloquent and thoughtful writers on the connection between humans and the natural world." --Richard Louv, New York Times bestselling author

"This is an astonishing book. A life-affirming, positive, uplifting book. Reading it left me feeling overwhelmed. The story of how Cindy Ross and her husband Todd Gladfelter brought up their children is quite amazing, an extraordinary education indeed. And a joyful, multi-faceted, real life education involving travel, people, and, most importantly of all, nature. An education that taught the most important human values: love, empathy, understanding, generosity, open-mindedness, humility. . . . For anyone who loves nature and the outdoors, especially if they have children, this is a book that shows just what is possible, a book that gives hope for the future. “ —Chris Townsend, author of The Backpacker's Handbook and Out There: A Voice From The Wild

"School teachers are largely bound by classroom walls and the internet, parents have no such constraints. As Cindy Ross reveals in The World Is Our Classroom, the unbounded opportunities in nature should inspire every parent to create memories and powerful experiential learning opportunities. Significant emotional encounters can be transformative. When children are allowed to explore and use their curiosity to discover the seemingly magical things in nature, it changes them as no passive learning can." —Larry Schweiger, former president and CEO, National Wildlife Federation

"Cindy Ross has long been a hero of mine. For years, I have admired her adventures and writing. Now, with two young children of my own I also look to Cindy's parenting as a model for experiential education and developmental opportunities outside of a traditional classroom." —Jennifer Pharr Davis. author, speaker, long distance hiker, and 2012 a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year

"How exciting it is to see two parents put the world in front of their kids from such a young age, believing their kids will rise to the occasion. This book, The World is Our Classroom, will explode some disabling myths about how fragile our kids are!" —Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids

"Cindy’s kids grew up with the world as their classroom. Today, she and Todd continue roaming the globe, occasionally reuniting with their offspring in places as far-flung as Nepal and Vietnam. Want to live a big life? The World Is Our Classroom takes you on the journey of how one family did it, and it doesn’t get any bigger, wilder, and better.” —Karen Berger, New York Times bestselling author of America's Great Hiking Trails

"Cindy Ross is one of today's most eloquent and thoughtful writers on the connection between humans and the natural world." --Richard Louv, New York Times bestselling author

"This is an astonishing book. A life-affirming, positive, uplifting book. Reading it left me feeling overwhelmed. The story of how Cindy Ross and her husband Todd Gladfelter brought up their children is quite amazing, an extraordinary education indeed. And a joyful, multi-faceted, real life education involving travel, people, and, most importantly of all, nature. An education that taught the most important human values: love, empathy, understanding, generosity, open-mindedness, humility. . . . For anyone who loves nature and the outdoors, especially if they have children, this is a book that shows just what is possible, a book that gives hope for the future. “ —Chris Townsend, author of The Backpacker's Handbook and Out There: A Voice From The Wild

"School teachers are largely bound by classroom walls and the internet, parents have no such constraints. As Cindy Ross reveals in The World Is Our Classroom, the unbounded opportunities in nature should inspire every parent to create memories and powerful experiential learning opportunities. Significant emotional encounters can be transformative. When children are allowed to explore and use their curiosity to discover the seemingly magical things in nature, it changes them as no passive learning can." —Larry Schweiger, former president and CEO, National Wildlife Federation

"Cindy Ross has long been a hero of mine. For years, I have admired her adventures and writing. Now, with two young children of my own I also look to Cindy's parenting as a model for experiential education and developmental opportunities outside of a traditional classroom." —Jennifer Pharr Davis. author, speaker, long distance hiker, and 2012 a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year

"How exciting it is to see two parents put the world in front of their kids from such a young age, believing their kids will rise to the occasion. This book, The World is Our Classroom, will explode some disabling myths about how fragile our kids are!" —Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids

"Cindy’s kids grew up with the world as their classroom. Today, she and Todd continue roaming the globe, occasionally reuniting with their offspring in places as far-flung as Nepal and Vietnam. Want to live a big life? The World Is Our Classroom takes you on the journey of how one family did it, and it doesn’t get any bigger, wilder, and better.” —Karen Berger, New York Times bestselling author of America's Great Hiking Trails