Hopkins Elementary Students and Teacher Serve as Ambassadors to China
As part of the Somerset Schools PROJECT WORLD cultural exchange program, second grade students in Mrs. Ross’s class at Hopkins Elementary School recently served as ambassadors from Kentucky to China, but not in the traditional sense of the word. They didn’t travel by airplane or boat to meet with their peers but partnered with the Center for Rural Development in Somerset to see and talk with students and adults in Hong Kong, China. Mrs. Suzi Ross, Principal Fonda Crawford and parents took the students to the Center at 8 am on the morning of the video-conference dressed in their Halloween costumes. The students were dressed as princesses, deer hunters, football players and Power Rangers as they educated the students in Kowloon, Hong Kong about our Halloween holiday and culture in Kentucky. Hopkins students also taught the Chinese students how to do the “Monster Mash” dance as led by Mrs. Ross and make Halloween candy. Hopkins teacher Suzi Ross described the shared classroom program as “a global cultural experience” stating that “this experience has culturally enriched our classroom on a daily basis because we have been communicating with China since August.” The program also had a big impression on the Hopkins students. Second grader Trevor Alexander said,” our video conference made us realize that our state of Kentucky is only a small part of our big world,” and Sarah Sutton is anxiously awaiting the package from Chinese students to arrive on Hopkins doorstep. Hopkins students mailed a box of items representing Kentucky to Hong Kong last week.
“Principal Fonda Crawford stated that the involvement of Hopkins students will not end with the video conference but would include students e-mailing each other and a scrapbook project.” Crawford also says that ” Hopkins Elementary is using technology to provide a window to the world for our students as we enter the 21st century and prepare our students to be successful in the global economy.”
The students in Hong Kong, China (led by school administrator Chun Bong) were dressed in traditional Chinese Kung Fu dress and taught the Hopkins students how to perform Tai Chi, dance, speak Chinese and play Chinese games. When asked his opinion about the vide conference Chun said, “The challenge today is how to break down the cultural and ideological barriers between peoples so that there will be less conflict and more understanding between nations,” said Bong.
Students from Corbin and Pineville Independent school districts also participated in the video conference. Pineville students taught all the other students the Hokey Pokey dance. These schools, including Hopkins, will participate in other video conferences later in the school year. One such event is scheduled for April and will include the Kentucky students, Chinese students and NASA from California.
Robyn Phillips at the Center for Rural Development worked with all the schools to make the video conference happen. The program is part of a collaborative effort between The Center for Rural Development’s CenterNET2 Network and all three schools to help increase student and adult understanding of cultures worldwide. Due to the videoconference link set up by CenterNET2 the Kentucky students overcame the traditional roadblocks of poor transportation and geography to help establish global exposure for Kentucky. “The world really is flat when incorporating videoconferencing technology into the classroom,” said Robyn Phillips, CenterNet2 project manager. Due to the help of Robyn and the Center for Rural Development, the Somerset Schools PROJECT WORLD has helped connect Somerset students to sites in Kentucky, Belize, Albania, Iraq, England and now China. Stay tuned for the next project!
