February 24, 2010
KOREAN STUDENT EXCHANGE
Unless you started life as a globetrotter you may not know much about the island of Ulleung, 120 kilometers off the coast of mainland Korea. Islanders can trace their historical development to the year 512 when the Usan-guk surrendered under assault by the Silla general Kim Isabu. But human habitation began far earlier, roughly the first millenium BC.
That's the cultural baggage a group of Ulleung teens brought to Tucson in the winter of 2010. Townsend Middle school principal Barbara Kohl calls this exchange program a unique opportunity.
“Middle school is sort of a terrifying thing,” says Kohl. “Parents look upon it with a great deal of trepidation and fear, and what an amazing thing that these parents put their children on a boat and on a couple planes and sent them to us.”
Now in its second year, the program came together with the help of the Korean government, Tucson's Korean community and TUSD. For Townsend, the program made a perfect fit, since for the last several years the school has built a reputation as an international academy.
As Kohl explains, “that has happened because we’ve attracted a significant number of refugee and immigrant families. So we have a very multicultural student body and seeing that as an asset rather than something we need to cope with has been part of that philosophical development.”
Korean students knew what they were getting into. Certainly English language instruction, which, according to student Hong-Kyeong Kim, they expected to put to immediate good use.
“I expected to make new American friends and to improve my English skills, so now I can communicate with others easier. So it’s no problem, says Kim.
The program pairs Korean students with Townsend ambassadors. Miral Patel signed up for her second hitch this year. Having immigrated to the US from India in 2007, she understands the challenges and rewards of assimilating into a new culture. She takes her appointment very seriously.
“I make sure that my partner is safe here and he understands what’s going on in the school and how the schools here are different than Korea,” says Patel.
Although Townsend ambassadors dream of visiting Ulleung,t to date the plans don't include a reciprocal visit of US students to Korea. But from all accounts, the experience can be called no less than a true exchange.
Links:
Ulleung do Island
Townsend School
- imported
- legacy
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