Schools are the natural starting point for effective cultural exchange, where students can learn how much each culture has to offer and break some of the negative stereotypes surrounding unfamiliar cultures. These initiatives have already started at Newton South High School, Oak Hill Middle School, and Mason-Rice Elementary School: students have been sharing ideas through cultural exchange projects with Kwala Secondary School and Mahundi Primary School. In 2007, Kwala Secondary School teacher Athuman Msangi traveled to Newton and visited several elementary, middle and high schools.
Thus far, three school-to-school relationships in Newton and Kwala have formed between:
Below are several examples of cultural exchange projects completed by students at different levels of schooling.
Kwala Secondary School Video Project - Kwala Secondary School students were given the opportunity to use a video camera in order to portray aspects of their school and community that they wanted to share with students from Newton South’s NTC Club.
Kwala Secondary School Day in the Life Drawing Project – Kwala Secondary School Students drew pictures that portray their lives at Kwala and in Tanzania to share with students from Newton South’s NTC Club.
Mason-Rice and Mahundi Exchange Questions – Students from Ms. Ceglia’s third grade class at Mason-Rice and Ms. Choma’s standard three class at Mahundi shared their culture by answering questions about their lives and illustrating their answers. Students were asked each question in their own language, allowing students to start learning their partner culture’s language.
