Square dancers perform for captivated students.
Emerson World Cultures Magnet School pupils recently got an exciting glimpse of the world around them without ever leaving their building. Students and staff embarked on a multi-cultural journey in celebration of International Education Week, a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. During the week of November 14-18, special activities took place each day.
A variety of speakers and performers participated to enlighten the youngsters, including:
- Square dancing led by cafeteria recess aide Karolyn Smith and her square dancing group;
- Nations Together in Song performed by third graders from five elementary schools;
- A Taiko Japanese drum ensemble show by Eric “The Fish” Paton from the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education and Capital University; and
- More than a dozen speakers from all over the world including Australia, Congo, Ireland, South Korea, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Germany, Japan, and China. The speaker from Bhutan shared his experiences about fleeing his country and spending 18 years in a refugee camp in Nepal.
Several classrooms were also able to Skype live with students in Ecuador, asking each other questions about topics like school, weather, transportation, animals, and food. Emerson students discovered there are no deer in Ecuador, and were surprised to find out it is common to see monkeys there.
The week concluded with an International Feast where students were provided the opportunity to taste foods from around the globe.