Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 4, 1991 TAG: 9103040090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A few weeks ago, it was India. This week, it's China. In another week or so, it'll be Japan. And this summer, it's on to Washington, D.C.
And who knows, in a year or two, students could be on their way to Europe, the Soviet Union or some other part of the globe.
"We hope that it will lead to international travel in future years," said Norma Jean Peters, county supervisor of social studies and foreign languages.
"It" is all part of the county's new International Studies for ninth-graders. The program began in the fall but really just got under way about a month ago when geography, history, English and social studies classes all began coordinating their lessons to revolve around studying Asian countries.
"[The program] keeps students aware of the world around them," said Rose Townsend, an English teacher at William Byrd High School.
The program already is growing.
An International Studies Seminar will be offered to students this summer as a complement to the regular program. For three weeks, students will study U.S. foreign policy, culture and international trade and marketing. At least four or five days will be spent on field trips, mostly to Washington, D.C., to the State Department, foreign embassies and foreign policy briefings.
School Board members have said the year-round program is one whose time has come and approved adding the summer session at their recent meeting.
"We just felt like we needed to provide international information and didn't want to make it an elective but a part of their day-to-day classes," said Peters, who requested the board's approval.
The program is just for students in grade nine, but Peters said she hopes to expand it to grades 10 and 11 in coming years. For now, teachers are enjoying the program's apparent success as shown in the enthusiasm of both the students and teachers.
"The students seem really excited. They typically respond very well to anything that's new," Townsend said. "I think the teachers were a little bit nervous about this at first. But now it seems to be overwhelmingly successful."
Each country will be studied for one or two weeks at a time. This semester concentrated on Asia. Future concentrations will be on the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.
Geography classes will study maps and the culture of the country. English classes will study the literature and poetry of that country's writers. Some classes may even touch on some of the country's language.
Last week, William Byrd students studied the writings of Confucius and the poems of ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, and social studies classes studied current events in China. Students also will sample Chinese food at the end of their two-week session.
The program runs through March at William Byrd and Glenvar high schools and Cave Spring, Northside and Hidden Valley junior high schools. A number of special events are scheduled to coincide with the program, including an Indian dance performance by three sisters from India now attending county schools. The performance is scheduled March 13 at Cave Spring High School.
by CNB