'Global citizens': Meade language program students forge bonds with Chinese pen pals

By Lisa R. RhodesAugust 5, 2011

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Rotunda Floyd-Cooper, coordinator of elementary mathematics for the Anne Arundel County Public Schools; Jen Wang, chair of the Foreign Language Department at MacArthur Middle School; and Daryl Kennedy, principal at Meade High School, stand at the ent... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. - When the fall semester begins, students enrolled in the Chinese language programs at Meade High School and MacArthur Middle School will become pen pals with students at a high school in China.

The effort is the result of a newly established partnership between Meade High, MacArthur Middle School and Mile Number One, a high school in China's Yunnan province.

Daryl Kennedy, principal at Meade High; Jen Wang, chair of the Foreign Language Department at MacArthur Middle; and Rotunda Floyd-Cooper, coordinator of elementary mathematics for the Anne Arundel County Public Schools, visited China from June 17 to 29. The trip was funded through the Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The institute, with support from the Office of Chinese Language Council International with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, promotes the study of Chinese language, culture, ethics and philosophy and furthers the understanding of Chinese culture.

Both Meade High and MacArthur Middle School offer Chinese to all students in their schools. The schools, which began their Chinese language programs three years ago, have the largest enrollments of students studying Chinese in the county.

Details of the pen pal program are still being developed, but Kennedy said students at both Fort Meade schools will communicate online primarily in Chinese as a way to improve their grasp of the language. He said Chinese educators hope their students will learn more about American culture through the exchange.

"The trip helped me to realize the importance of exposing our students to students around the world," Kennedy said. "There's more than just a textbook; there's real life."

The Anne Arundel educators, part of a delegation from Maryland, were among an estimated 300 educators from around the country to visit China. They visited elementary, middle and high schools in three provinces and learned how teachers are emphasizing the arts, culture and physical education, in addition to math and science.

"It was a very productive trip," Wang said. "It was a great chance for us to learn how our students can develop a global awareness to become global citizens and well-rounded individuals."

Next spring, a delegation of Chinese educators will visit Meade High and MacArthur Middle to learn about the American public school system.

"They want to learn from us, to communicate with us," Kennedy said of the Chinese. "They don't want animosity. They want to be friends."

In addition to the trip to China, Wang said Meade High and MacArthur have each applied for a $10,000 grant over three years from the Confucius Institute to create a Confucius classroom at both schools.

The grant could be used to hire teachers and purchase educational materials, digital aids and technology to help students learn more about the Chinese language and people.

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