Redwood Gazette
Reede Gray hosts world cultures day
BY TROY KRAUSE, EDITOR
Aksana Muratalieva points out the distance between Minnesota and Kyrgyzstan.
Redwood Falls, Minn.
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Where in the world is Kyrgyzstan?
What do people do for fun in Morocco?
For 1,500 students from four area schools questions like these and hundreds more were answered Monday during a world cultures day held at Reede Gray Elementary School.
As part of the Cotton-wood River Integration Collaborative (CRIC) program, students from New Ulm, Cedar Mountain, Springfield and Reede Gray schools gathered to learn from individuals representing the Minnesota International Center.
Those individuals representing a variety of countries from South Korea to Kenya talked with students and led them in cultural activities they would take part in where they originate.
According to George Hornik, coordinator of the Minnesota Inter-national Center and event organizer, the idea behind the day is to introduce students to places around the world – allowing them the chance to travel without getting on a plane.
Each student was given a passport for the day and received stickers from the places they visited.
They may have stopped to do some salsa dancing, or might have learned to say words or phrases in another language.
“We want the students to see there may be some differences, but also to realize we really are all the same,” said Hornik, who is originally from Poland. “The students who present also get to come out and get a real sense of America by visiting with the students.”
For Stephanie Perry, Reede Gray principal, the day was not only a time to learn about people from different cultures but also to learn about students from schools much closer to home.
That, she said, is what the integration concept is all about.
Samir Zahar from Morocco, a civil engineering student at the U of M Twin Cities said he was presenting for just the second time adding he learns to appreciate his own culture as students ask him questions.
Aksana Muratalieva who came to Minnesota from Kyrgyzstan several years ago, said she has done dozens of presentations.
“When you learn more about another culture you learn more about your own,” she told students.
Perry expressed her appreciation for the cultural integration teachers in the local school district, including Andrea Spanovich, Jenny Wagner and Sandy Lauer, who put in lots of hours to help make the event a success. She also thanked all of the adults who volunteered time to help create what she hopes becomes a regular event.
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