WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SAN DIEGO WHEN WE NEED HER?

"Teaching students about the world is not a subject in itself, separate from other content areas, but should be an integral part of all subjects taught. We need to open global gateways and inspire students to explore beyond their national borders." - Vivien Stewart

Here is the third in a series of nine articles from the December 27 blog regarding an education wish list of New Year's Resolutions. The third resolution stated that we must understand that we are only one segment of a global society and that our students need to have classes with real world situations which help broaden their understanding of the people and cultures of the world in which we live. NOTE: Meet Hello Kitty, Hello World! along with lesson plan ideas and book resources at the end of this article.

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In 1996, when the internet was still young, my husband and I set off on a trip around the world, encompassing fourteen countries and taking more than three months. For him it was a chance to show me some of his postings abroad. For me it was to bring the world alive for my students during a second semester sabbatical leave. That trip was based on the game, "Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego”. Our version was called “Where, Oh Where, Is Mrs. Lind-Sherman?” and it was chosen for Carmen’s popularity among kids at that time. It was the game of choice for any classroom with a computer.

I loved it because it was an incredible way to study interactive “real world” geography. Kids loved it because, in their own words, it was awesome! Comments from internet articles about Carmen ranged from “loved how it made me think”, to “it was the best educational and strategy game.” One comment trumped all. “One thing I do need to do before I die is to arrest Carmen San Diego. I played, no joke, over 200 missions on various systems. Never once did I ever catch her…(It) instilled (in me) my love of geography, and I thank her for that.”

Needless to say the prep work for our trip became all consuming. Through research, not as easy then as now, I wrote about each country. We had an internet provider headed by Ian Freed of Ian Freed & Associates. The company donated its time and expertise to make the internet connection happen. Since we were among the first to connect with students abroad via the internet, there was much media interest.

Our prearranged visits were mostly in major cities and only in elementary schools. At the schools I brought greetings and small gifts of stickers and candy. We set up internet and snail mail pen pal connections depending on whether or not the students had internet access. We traveled with expandable luggage for souvenirs. Our backpacks were filled with a laptop PC, printer and video camera. We had no set schedule, and found our hotels or pensions as we went along. This worked well until we reached Rome during the start of Easter week, where the only accommodation we could find was in one of Rome's most expensive hotels.

Once in a city, our first task was to go on a city tour and take pictures of three “clues” to our whereabouts. For example, in Sydney, Australia it might have been the opera house, an emu and finally a kangaroo. Once the student guessed our correct location a menu opened allowing students to “explore” the country, as well as participate in seven engaging activities related to the country.

Upon our return to Seattle I turned an empty classroom at Martin Luther King Elementary School into a mini version of the world, setting up stations for each country complete with maps, books, toys, food, pictures, and activities. I think I can safely say that all participating students at MLK had as close to a first hand peek at other cultures as was possible. Students abroad who connected with us also had a chance to see what our school and student population was like.

Like a long ago TV commercial said, "We've come a long way, baby." Not only is the internet far more widespread, but we can actual "see" our internet pen friends and people abroad via video cams, pod casts, and distance learning programs.

There is much to remember about that trip, but one thing stands out. Almost without exception the students we met knew far more about our country, politically and geographically, than we did about theirs. Not only were many of them English speaking, but many could name our states, state capitols, branches of government and political chain of command.

While in Poland, we visited an elementary school where students spoke more than one language and spoke them well. This school did not have internet access-- only the universities were privileged to have that technology then. There was a charming innocence about the students and a thirst for knowledge. The class I visited was English speaking. Other languages taught were Russian, German and Czechoslovakian. A teacher told me that besides English, the Poles believe in learning the languages of those countries that border theirs. I was envious. I had taken a little French, studied Swedish because of my heritage and taken some Russian classes, but I was by no means fluent in anything. Why hadn’t our educational system placed a higher value on learning about other countries and languages? With Mexico to the south and a large French speaking population to the north, learning Spanish and French would make sense and give our students a sense of belonging in the world.

Some schools in Washington have a variety of language immersion programs, but I wonder about the depth of that learning. Though I am thrilled that my granddaughters are taking Chinese in their school I would like to see all students in this country take Spanish and be able to communicate well in that language. In a casual conversation with a Spanish language teacher in Bellingham, Washington I learned that all public middle schools there provide Spanish. This is great, but what comes after? In America there is no uniform plan to learn foreign languages, and the exposure we do have is influenced by budgetary considerations.

Many schools have students from other countries enrolled in ESL classes, some of them bewildered refugees. Undoubtedly some schools use the educational opportunity afforded by these students. If this were done as a matter of course, think how enriched our students would be to learn about the clothing, cooking and customs of people different from us. Think as well how much more welcome and respected those families would feel.

In addition to our foreign language deficit we are abysmally ignorant of world geography, political and cultural differences. An article by Amerispan Study Abroad stated that our ignorance of the world was a national liability and called for an increase in the number of U.S students to study abroad. They see this as one way to combat anti-American sentiment. In an essay for the National Review Online (October, 2001), Robert Conquest called for more and better history classes and a greater knowledge about the world outside of America. In an article (2003) Doug McGill in the McGill Report drew attention to Jay Leno's interviews with young Americans on the street. What they said would be funny if it weren't so embarrassing. When asked about Hitler's first name one young man said "He was just known as Hitler...Like Cher." A study by the National Geographic Society showed that nearly 30% could not identify the Pacific Ocean on a map, 85% could not find Iraq and more than half could not locate India. This is a serious national problem and it's urgent that steps be taken to remediate our ignorance.

At the risk of sounding flippant, perhaps Carmen San Diego can help. Other ideas anyone?

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BOOK NOOK

Hello Kitty, Hello World! illustrated by Higashi Glaser, is a wonderful introduction to thirteen of the world’s countries and some vocabulary words. Elementary school students will love the opening greetings, animals, landmarks, and foods unique to the featured country. In the China section we learn to say hello, “ni hao”. Cleverly drawn pictures show lanterns, potstickers, rickshaws, pandas, dragons, the Great Wall and other related items.

Suggested lesson ideas: Using this book or another like it, take monthly armchair adventures to the countries of your choosing. For example,time your study of China around the Chinese New Year. Set up multiple intelligences centers using ideas like the following:

Art: Have a calligraphy center
Work Together: Play Chinese restaurant. Have potstickers or noodles,and learn how to eat with chopsticks. One can buy inexpensive chopsticks for an entire class. It’s a skill kids love to master.
Move Around: Make simple dragon costumes (find ideas on the internet) and arrange for the class to “dragon dance” their way from room to room.
Music: Make drums and other noisemakers to use with the dragon dance
Read/Write: Read about pandas. Write a class story about the Three Little Pandas
Work Alone: Write a report about China naming several things you learned.
Math: Write the words and Chinese alphabet for numbers one through ten

Additional Resources:
Pandas, by Barbara Taylor Cork (Non Fiction)
Dinner at the Panda Palace by Stephanie Calmenson, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott (Fiction)