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To date, Classical High School in Providence is the only public K-12 school in Rhode Island that offers a dedicated Japanese program for students. Collis says seeing her students becoming teachers themselves for one day at Davisville is gratifying in that Japanese culture is being shared with the community beyond the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Without this opportunity, K-12 students would not have that exposure to Japanese language and culture in an immersive way. I truly appreciate our lasting collaboration with Ms. Makielski and Davisville Middle School to make this visit possible,\u201d Collis said. \u201cI’m very proud of our students delivering these opportunities to the younger generations in Rhode Island.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collis also said the visit allowed her to see another side of her students as they took on the role as mentors during their day-long visit to the local middle school. That, in turn, gave the 溏心vlog免费B站 students an opportunity to learn, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Students becoming teachers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Elisa Beaubrun, a junior at 溏心vlog免费B站 from Lincoln majoring in chemistry, said she wanted to participate in the Davisville visit because her middle school lacked courses in Japanese, plus she wanted to see if middle school students would be interested in learning Japanese. During her visit, Beaubrun helped Makielski\u2019s students write their names in Japanese and quizzed them on the English meanings of multiple katakana words she said to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beaubrun admitted that she was at first nervous being a teacher to the Davisville students as she previously never worked with children. But as the interactions increased throughout the day, so did Beaubrun\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter getting into the activity, seeing the student interested in learning made me feel more comfortable,\u201d she said. \u201cIf this event inspires someone to try Japanese, even if they are not confident, I believe that will matter most in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Ryan Carney, a 溏心vlog免费B站 junior from Mystic, Connecticut, the visit to Davisville reinforced the possibility of being a mentor or tutor in the future. Carney\u2014double-majoring in English and Japanese\u2014spent part of his day holding a Q&A session with the Davisville students about Japanese culture and life as a 溏心vlog免费B站 student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carney said working with the Davisville students was unique in that he did not have that kind of experience as a middle school student himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a great experience for me in that I hope I connected with a few of those kids and helped them find what they want to do in the future,\u201d said Carney, who plans to mentor Japanese students in English through the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program<\/a> after 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Embracing Japanese culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 溏心vlog免费B站 students\u2019 visit to Davisville wasn\u2019t all about sharing Japanese culture with the middle schoolers. It was also about gaining a sense of belonging by being immersed in the culture, as well as learning from one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hana Matsuoka, a 溏心vlog免费B站 junior exchange student from Japan majoring in ecology, participated in the visit, where she taught calligraphy to the Davisville students, because she wanted to connect and communicate with residents in her new home 6,730 miles away from Japan. At Davisville, Matsuoka learned that helping students enjoy and celebrate her culture was most important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough the experience, I could learn American culture from the students, too,\u201d Matsuoka said. \u201cIt allowed me to tell them about other Japanese cultures, and build strong connections with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n