ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 17, 1997 TAG: 9703180093
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF_3 EDITION: METRO
Marylen Harmon's sixth-grade pupils at Northside Middle School are not able to accompany their teacher on her travels around the world. So Harmon brings the world to them.
A self-proclaimed "lover of history," Harmon teaches language arts and social studies, always incorporating pieces of her journeys to faraway places such as Brazil and Europe and Egypt into her lessons.
"It makes history come alive when I can bring things back from other places; it helps them make a connection," Harmon said.
Harmon's work for the Roanoke Valley Sister Cities has allowed her to visit three of the city's six sister cities: Wonju, Korea; Kisumu, Kenya; and Florianopolis, Brazil. She shares her experiences with her pupils and says one of her goals as a teacher is to celebrate their cultural diversity.
Harmon says she takes a "hands-on" approach to social studies, inviting resource people from other cultures into her classroom. Recently, a group of Korean dancers visited; during a study of Egypt, an archaeologist spoke to her class.
A 27-year teaching veteran, Harmon was born in Wytheville and grew up in Salem. Her teachers inspired her to enter the education field, she said.
Travel occupies her outside-of-school time. Of all the places Harmon has been, Brussels, Belgium, is tops on her list.
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Marylen Harmon, Sixth grade, Northside Middle Schoolby CNB