November 15, 2005
Purdue students to educate area children during International Education Week
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University will dispatch international students to two West Lafayette schools to teach students about other countries and cultures in celebration of International Education Week, Nov. 14-18.
Purdue international students, which include both exchange students and students from other countries who are attending the university, will travel to Harrison High School from Wednesday through Friday and Burnett Creek Elementary School on Friday, said Nancy Montague, a co-coordinator for the event and an immigration counselor in the Office of International Students and Scholars.
"This exchange is a good complement to students' studies about other countries and cultures," she said.
At Harrison, several international students will visit with high-schoolers. On Wednesday, a student from Russia, who also is president of the Purdue Salsa Club, will present Latin dance to a beginning dance class at 10:17 a.m. and again at 11:13 a.m. On Thursday from 8:15-11:20 a.m., a visiting scholar from Romania will speak on Eastern Orthodoxy to three world history/geography classes who are doing a unit on the religion.
On Friday, several events will take place at Harrison. At least four members of the Purdue Chinese Calligraphy Club will visit a creative writing class at 10:15 a.m. to do a presentation on Chinese symbols and characters. The calligraphy club members also will help students re-create a symbol they choose with paints and Chinese rice paper.
From 11:40 a.m. to 1:35 p.m., a student from Vietnam will be cooking two native dishes – one from the south and one from the north – for an advanced nutrition and foods class and will discuss Vietnamese cooking techniques.
Then, from 12:30-2:30 p.m., a student from Japan will visit an English class to share Japanese culture and examples of Haiku.
At Burnett Creek on Friday afternoon, from 1:30-3 p.m., nine students from China, Malaysia, Puerto Rico and India will present information about their native lands, as well as more "active" demonstrations – such as martial arts and Indian dance.
Classes at Burnett Creek will choose displays to visit, and there will be a time for the elementary students to ask questions of the international students.
"Events like these are memorable ones in a student's life," said Beth Tucker, a co-coordinator for the event and an immigration counselor for the Office of International Students and Scholars. "This is a wonderful opportunity for international students to make a lasting impression on American students they will carry with them for the rest of their lives."
The students' visits to the area schools are part of the Global Outreach Purdue! program, referred to as GO Purdue! About 80 international students from about 30 countries are involved in the program, which provides cultural, educational, service and social opportunities for students while they are living in the United States. There are more than 5,000 international students and scholars at Purdue.
International Awareness Week in the spring, the International Friendship Program and the Educational Exchange Program are also part of GO Purdue!
International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the United States.
Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu
Sources: Nancy Montague, (765) 496-2306, nancym@purdue.edu
Beth Tucker, (765) 494-9225, tuckerb@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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