BERKELEY – Two students were in the hall of Central Regional Middle School, inviting passersby to visit beautiful Puerto Rico.
The island nation inhabited their classroom. In fact, every class had a different country during their international festival.
Jannah Abdo and Yareli Linares Torres were inviting people to experience Puerto Rican culture and learn more about the animals, music, and more. There was even information about surfing and robotics in the classroom.
It’s about equality, the girls said. Showing the different cultures teaches the students about everyone.
Each wing of the school was assigned a continent. Then, each teacher chose a country from that continent. The students studied the nation and became tour guides for their own class/country, said Vice Principal Gabrielle Carney. She credited the help from Spanish teacher Marasol Brodie and guidance counselor Kris Golda who organized the International Culture Club.
These students learned a traditional dance of Ghana. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
Kids grabbed passports and brought them to the various countries they visited. Then, they were asked to write about what countries they enjoyed best and why. Every classroom had a QR code for them to scan for more interactivity.
Each class had freedom to interpret the experience. In New Zealand, for example, students learned the Haka, the dance that Maori warriors did to psych out enemies in battle.
Sometimes, it was a historical perspective, looking into the nation’s past. Sometimes, it was the current culture that was shown, such as Japan, which featured Nintendo and Sony games and samplings of candy and snacks like edamame.
Pictures of famous people from each country were posted with short bios. Students learned bits of the language, greeting people in the native tongue.
New Zealand was where the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies were filmed, so teacher Samantha Schmidt played up that angle while her students learned the traditional Haka dance of the Maori people. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
Ambient rainforest sounds and construction paper fauna surrounded you when you walked through the South America area. If a particular genre of music came from the region, you could hear it in the halls.
And of course, there was the food. The aroma of traditional cuisines wafted through the hall, pulling people in. If someone was walking around with a particularly interesting-looking plate, they were asked which country they got it from.
Native American tribes were celebrated as well. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
Some of the teachers cooked themselves. Bruce Scarpulla, the cafeteria director, helped with organizing the food.
The result was a true learning experience where the children’s natural curiosity was engaged.
“The kids are so good and respectful,” Carney complimented.
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