April 5th is Children Day in China and I think it is also in Japan. Ana at UNM Taos Library told me it is the same in Mexico. How wonderful it is to celebrate the young in spring when all is renewed and fresh.
As a child growing up in China I had to travel with my family a lot due to the war and political reasons. I learned many different dialects and got used to changes and new surroundings. English was the compulsory foreign language taught at my schools. I remember being very proud of my language skills when I came to study in United States.
Taking UNM Taos students to study in China the last few years have also made it very clear to me how important multicultural education and world travel can be for the young. In 2007 during our travels along the Silk Road, we encountered lovely children in Dunhuang who giggled and called to us practicing their English. In Qin Hai, Tibetan children loved seeing their own images in our digital cameras. But recently in a western part of the world, we saw lovely children getting in line for class in a school yard and poised our cameras to take a photo, we were stopped harshly by a nervous teacher who hustled the kids away from us. We realized that she was afraid for the children and we felt very sad and sorry. How can we erase the divisions and fear and misunderstanding that deprive us of our wish to appreciate and capture beauty and innocence?
Perhaps the answer lies in our united efforts to bring better understanding of other culture and languages in our education for our students; and let the children be our peace ambassadors.
So, let us gather to share our culture and stories, ideas to create more global classrooms for our future world citizens.
Come join us at UNM Taos Library and Student Lounge for this celebration on April 17th, 2009. For more information:737-6242, 776-5126
