WEST LANE STUDENTS HOST 'A GATHERING OF NATIONS'

JACKSON -- Students at West Lane Elementary School took steps towards understanding other cultures during a special program Friday.

The school invited community residents from other countries to speak during its biannual Gathering of Nations program."It's something we do to educate students about international customs," said Dawn Detring, who coordinated the program. Detring is a member of Parents Always Love Students (PALS), a volunteer organization at the school which sponsored the event.

School counselor Judy Statler said teachers, students and parents look forward to the program because it is fun and educational. They develop an awareness and appreciation of the traditions and culture of people in other cultures as well as their own, she said."We want people to be aware of differences and try to accept people who are a little different from them," Statler said.

Students whose parents were born in other countries are given an opportunity to share their traditions during the event, Statler said. Quite often, the students volunteer their parents to be speakers.

Community residents, exchange students and representatives from Southeast Missouri State University also participate as speakers."We're working as a team," said Miriam Mouser, an adoptive mother of two Korean children. Mouser was the main spokesperson in a presentation about Korea that included input from natives Sun Cha Birim and Moon Suk Ko.

Birim, who said she was "very shy," chose instead to share a dessert from her homeland with her daughter's classmates. Ko, a student at the university, said the program would have far-reaching impact on the children."It will help them open their minds and see the different world," she said. "I wish we had this kind of program in Korea so we could learn about America."Although this was the first year Shu Ju Chuang of Taiwan participated in the event, she said she makes similar presentations every day. Chuang is a student teacher at Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau."I love to share with students about my culture," she said. "I'll share with my kids as long as they want to learn."Chuang said she has learned to be very patient with students' questions about her culture. A child's experiences are often very limited, and their questions often reflect that, she said.

For example, four of every five children she meets locally assume she is of Spanish heritage rather than Taiwanese."I just tell them no, I don't speak Spanish," Chuang said. "I think it's pretty normal because in the environment they live they only know English and Spanish."Statler said she hopes the joint effort will result in better understanding of cultures. Teachers will continue the program by mixing information they gain from speakers with their curricula, she said.