By Ikuko Karacsony | Program Manager
We always learn something new when we visit classes participating in Global Classmates. Be it innovative ways teachers incorporate the program into their curriculum or the various skills and knowledge students are gaining from talking to their partner classmates across the Pacific. Our recent visits to some of the high schools in the US participating in Global Classmates this year were no different.
Our Vice President Shanti Shoji visited Alhambra High School in California and met with the teachers and students participating in Global Classmates. The students were working on their “omiyage” gifts to send to their partner school in Japan and making cute origami Halloween cards! Ichise-Sizemore-sensei told us, “I love that my students are able to connect with teens in Japan and use the Japanese they learn in my class in a practical way. It means a lot to them to be able to talk with the students in Japan and learn from them.”
At Marble Hill School for International Studies in New York, the students were working on posting comments on the discussion topic “My Best Travel Memories.” They were having fun sharing photos and memories of their travels to various places like Disney World, Niagara Falls, and Washington, DC, while reading about Japanese students’ school trip to Hiroshima, Osaka, and Kobe. How great to get an insider travel tips from their peers!
At Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Maryland, we were able to hear from the students and Ogawa-sensei directly the amazing impact the program has been making on them. Participating in Global Classmates not only brought confidence to the students in their Japanese language abilities, but it made connecting with Japanese people and using the language no longer intimidating. The experience allowed some of the students to feel comfortable enough to pursue next-step opportunities to engage with Japan, such as applying to go to a university in Japan and go on a summer exchange program to Japan. As one student told us, “I’ve been able to see that the Japanese students are actually very similar to us and so I no longer feel intimidated to talk with them. I’m really enjoying being able to connect with them and become friends!”
We are so thankful for all of these passionate teachers who are doing an amazing job facilitating the program and making a huge impact in the students lives. The program would not be possible without them!
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