Updated: August 25, 2010
STARTALK immerses students and teachers in Chinese culture
Program for elementary, middle, and high school teachers and students is sponsored by Bryant’s U.S.-China Institute and Confucius Institute.
When Andrea Pleau, a social studies teacher at Smithfield High School, incorporates new material this year about the Chinese economy and Chinese tea culture, she will have a lot of firsthand experiences to draw from.
She spent three weeks earlier this summer taking part in STARTALK, a program organized by Bryant’s U.S.-China Institute and Confucius Institute to immerse elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers in Chinese language and culture.
Following the program on campus at Bryant, she was part of a group of 17 teachers and students who traveled to China for two weeks, and she is looking forward to incorporating all of her experiences into her teaching.
“As I prepare to return to the classroom for the 2010-2011 school year, I am much more versed in aspects of Chinese business, history, politics, environmental issues, and cultural celebrations,” says Pleau, one of 38 teachers to participate in the 4th STARTALK Program. “There is no question in my mind that I am much more equipped to teach Chinese culture at Smithfield High School.”
Cultural immersion
Pleau first developed an interest in China three years ago when she participated in a seminar offered by the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. Through the program, she explored East Asian history, geography, culture, literature, arts, and language with tops scholars of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean studies.
That experience led to Pleau being invited to be part of a contingent led by Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley and Smithfield Public Schools Superintendent Robert O'Brien that traveled to China in 2008.
It was during that visit the foundation was laid to create Confucius Classrooms in the Smithfield Public Schools. The first-of-their-kind classrooms, which were officially dedicated last fall at Smithfield High School and Winsor Elementary School, offer Chinese language and cultural curricula through a partnership between Bryant’s Confucius Institute and Smithfield educators.
Pleau, who was named coordinator of the Confucius Classroom at Smithfield High, started teaching a course on Chinese culture.
“My previous research combined with my travel to China proved to be beneficial in teaching this course, but I knew I could enhance my existing knowledge and understanding of such a rapidly changing country by participating in the STARTALK program,” she says.
Seeing is believing
Pleau says her most memorable moments of the trip from interacting with the locals and learning more about their lives. She enjoyed visiting rural Shanghai where she took a boat ride led by a local tour guide. “I was able to observe the residents engaging in their everyday lives,” she says. “I gained a glimpse of what life is truly like for Chinese people.”
One of Pleau’s colleagues, Kristine Sarro, an art teacher at Smithfield High, took part in an Asian Studies semester-long workshop several years ago that was sponsored by the Five College Center for East Asian Studies. Her experiences helped her develop an Asian Art class that is part of the Confucius Classroom curriculum. She took part in this summer’s STARTALK to deepen her understanding of Chinese culture.
“It was exciting to learn so much in STARTALK and then see it all on our trip,” says Sarro. “I was most struck by the Forbidden City. I can remember learning about it as a young adult, and to see it was dream-like.”
One of the 50 students to participate in STARTALK, Lilia Trissler, a rising junior at LaSalle Academy in Providence, was born in China and adopted by parents in the United States when she was six months old. She took part in the inaugural STARTALK program three years ago, and she has returned each year to continue learning the language. This summer, she was part of the group that traveled to China, which marked her first visit there since she was a baby.
"Everything involving Chinese culture and language interests me because I like learning about my heritage," says Trissler, who plans to take Chinese classes in the fall through Bryant's Confucisu Institute.
Another STARTALK participant, Nick Luck, a rising senior at Smithfield High School, says the program helped show him the similarities and differences between American and Chinese cultures.
During the two-week student program at Bryant, participants took language classes, participated in cultural activities such as martial arts, ping pong, and calligraphy; and learned about the geography of China. In China, the group went to the Shanghai World Expo, toured the China National Silk Museum, went to sites from the 2008 Summer Olympics, and visited local high schools, among other activities.
“My favorite part of the trip to China was visiting the Great Wall,” he says. “The entire program was a great opportunity to learn firsthand about a different culture.”
Read a STARTALK blog written by Science and Technology Professor Hong Yang’s daughter, Emily, who is an incoming first-year student at New York University.
