Combs Students Study China
December 19, 2007 - It was noisy in the library at Combs Elementary today as students excitedly talked about China and the different aspects of the country they were studying.Listen to NC State Professor Hilda Spires and students talk about China. 3 minute mp3 file |
 Students learn about traditional Chinese clothing. |
 Students learn about the Chinese alphabet. |
Listen to principal intern Michael Armstrong and Panda Express managers Kenny Trinh and Peggy Doty talk about Covey's Seven Habits and Combs study of Chinese culture. 6 minute mp3 file |
“I learned more than 1.3 billion people live in China,” said a second-grader in Ms. Garrison’s class. The second-graders had a special visitor, NC State Professor Hilda Spires who has a son in the class. Spires went with a group from NC State to China this past summer, and she was happy to share information about her trip with the students.
“I think the main reason that China is important right now is because of the vast number of people in China, and because the country has now opened up,” said Spires. “They have internet access and free market and free trade. Now we have a global society, and China is going to be more and more a major player in the global society and the global economy. So the more we as U.S. citizens can learn about China and learn to collaborate, partner and exchange ideas with China, the better off we are here in the United States.”
At the end of every semester, Combs Elementary studies another culture and this year students were interested in China because of the connections they have made with a corporate leader who shares their interest in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Students at the school learn about the habits as part of the school’s leadership magnet theme.
Michael Armstrong, a principal intern and magnet coordinator at Combs, has helped organize this week’s cultural study.
“We focus on a different culture every December and try to make it as authentic as possible and bring in the resources from the community and local businesses to make that happen,” said Armstrong. “Simultaneously to that, we have developed a relationship with Panda Express because of our similar philosophy in how to run a successful business based on Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits.”
The restaurant’s employees have visited the school to develop a better understanding of the Seven Habits as taught at the school. The restaurant sent a team of employees including some managers from Atlanta to help with the school’s cultural study of China. One of the managers was Kenny Trinh who has been studying Covey’s book for several years.
“The Seven Habits are helping us in everything we are doing,” said Trinh. “When I walked into the school I saw posters about the Seven Habits, and I saw students using the Seven Habits.”
The school seeks to create an environment much like the outside world, says Armstrong.
“Our study of Chinese culture today was all created by our third-grade students as part of an authentic project tied to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study,” said Armstrong. “The 12 Chinese students that we have in this school sat down with adults and decided what this day would look like. Instead of teaching the Covey habits in isolation, they were being taught as the students were actually implementing them to put on an event.”
The students helped transform the school library into eight centers where students learned about traditional arts, language, currency and traditional dress. Third-grade students were teaching literature based lessons to the rest of the school. There were demonstrations of traditional Chinese dance and martial arts. Students helped the art teacher make a life-size paper mache dragon.
“This is not an event put on for students,” said Armstrong. “This is a student initiated event that is completely organized and controlled by our students.”
The students also had a chance to eat Chinese food with chop sticks, all provided by their business partner.
“You can’t eat Chinese food without fortune cookies,” said Peggy Doty of Panda Express. “A good fortune lightens life. You read your fortune, and you see sparkles coming out from your eyes.”
-wcpss-