Visitors give students a taste of what it's like in other lands

FALLS VILLAGE — Students from China, Japan, Korea and Mexico who attend the Indian Mountain School (IMS) in Lakeville visited the Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village Thursday, May 7.

“The purpose is to give our students the opportunity to interact directly with kids their own age from other countries,� said Kellogg social studies teacher Amy Lake.

The visiting students tell the American students “what they believe American children ought to know about their homelands.�

The Kellogg students, in grades five through seven,  prepared questions to ask their IMS presenters, and helped clean and set up the classrooms.

Natalie Holland, the English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at Indian Mountain, said, “The ESL students spend  four or five class periods preparing a presentation about their country and its culture, so that the Kellogg students might enhance their social studies by meeting peers who live in the countries they have studied.

“The students are shy at first, but they soon become comfortable with one another.�

Fuko Chiba, from Japan, began by asking if the Kellogg students knew the significance of the colors of the Japanese flag. “The white is for the peacefulness of the Japanese people, and the red is for the spirit.�

Sung Yeon Ro, from South Korea, gave her listeners a concise picture of the political situation in her country, explaining the partition between north and south as “not so good.�

After the classroom sessions, the IMS students joined their Kellogg counterparts for a little outdoor recreation. Some students are planning to stay in touch via e-mail.

Holland has been bringing ESL students to Kellogg for 15 years, from both Indian Mountain and from Marvelwood in Kent.

“For my students, it is a great opportunity to feel proud of who they are and to practice their speaking skills in a brand new setting,� she said.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for cultural interchange, an opportunity to build new understandings about other people and lands,� Lake added.
 

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