Postcard Exchange around the World

[abcstudent]

Hi,
I'm Kim Yang. I teach 6th Grade Geography and History in Taipei, Taiwan.
We have been collecting postcards around the world for several months.
On our wall is a big picture of the Earth and children from different countries holding hands.
Around this picture are postcards from different countries.
Each time when we receive a postcard, my students do some research and draw flags and a picture of a child in its traditional clothes adding to the others.

Besides learning about different countries, it is for me most important that students archieve the differences and respect them.

I told my students we're all different living our own ways. Yet the desire having a better future for our home planet is a unique wish from all children around the world.

Somehow we still need more postcards from all over the world.
We would love to send you one postcard from Taiwan in return.

I may not post our school address here.

Address (third party):

Kim Yang and Mt. Students
4F., No.66, LN 327, Yuan Shan Rd., Chung Ho City, Taipei
Taiwan

If you want to send to our school directly;
Please email to abcstudent@lycos.com

We would be very grateful.
Thanks
Kim and Students

[abcstudent]

I'm an oversea teacher, born in America, had moved to Germany, landed in Taipei. I'm a quarter American, a quarter German, and half Asian.

During my high-school and university time I had friends and neighbors. Some of them had weird opinions about other people from different countries.

If one did not behave well, that would mean "typical all of them from this country".
In fact that is not about the Germans only. When I had visited the other European Countries, some people have the same habit to say: "Pah, typical the [country] people". Don't misunderstand me wrong, from all countries there are also very good and well behaved people.

When I had moved to Taipei. There was a small group of visitors from XXX. Their behavior as visitors was far below the average manner.
Again some Taiwanese had judged them with the same "typical" sentence.
-Once Again ~ many Taiwanese are very nice and don't judge this way~
Again - Just some weeks later another TV news about some bad behaved visitors from another country.
-Once Again ~ it was a coincidence. We have very well behaved visitors, too.~

Since that day I have tried my best to teach my students to think before action.
Once we had a selfmade mascot exchange with another country. We had spent a lot of money and energy to finish our mascot. But in exchange we got a bad quality one. I was disappointed, BUT not my students, they loved the mascot very much. I told them probably the students there are not rich and they did not have good equipments. To my suprise my students had wanted to donate toys and something else to them, I smiled a while (our partners are from a wealthy country). But then I started to understand, they had done things by heart and had received it by heart and had cared about their new friends.

SHAME ON ME!!!!!!!

I want to protect this healthy concept. I do not want them to change or forget who they were when they were kids, when they grow up.

For several months I have been trading and exchanging postcards from all over the world. We have a big globe hanging on our wall. Each time we receive a postcard, we locate the country/area and do some research. They also draw a picture of a child in its traditional clothes adding to the other children around the globe.

I told my students:
We are all different living our own ways. Yet the desire having a better future for our planet is one wish from all children around the world.

We shall never judge people for who they are, but we shall judge them for what they have done.
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I'm very exhausted, but my kids ask me every day if a new postcard has arrived, that keep me going on.

I want to share this story with people and thank all the teachers who had helped me.

I will post a list of countries/areas we've received postcards to express our thanks every 3 to 4 weeks.

God Bless

Kim

[abcstudent]

Received

September 2005

Sam and Jude, Homeschool *Nothern Ireland, UK
Sam and Jude, Homeschool *Titanic's Habor, UK
Miss Woodruff's 2nd Grade *Arkansas, USA

October 2005

From a Math teacher *Aveiro, Portugal
From a Math teacher *Aveiro beach, Portugal
From a Math teacher *Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Middle School Students *New Jersey, USA
7B class in Skorping *Country Map, Denmark
7B class in Skorping *Crownprince and -princess, Denmark
7B class in Skorping *Nordjylland, Denmark
7B class in Skorping *Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark
7B class in Skorping *Country Map Cartoon, Denmark
5th Grade Class *Virginia, USA
Freshwater Learning Center *Minnesota, USA
From a 5th Grade student *Indiana, USA
3rd Grade in Peoria *Arizona, USA
Oconto Elemantary School *Wisconsin, USA
Levitt Middle School *New Jersey, USA
Homeschool Andrea *Virginia, USA
Mrs. Follick's Class *Michigan, USA
Imagiverse Educational Consortium *Disneyland, USA
Trinity Academy 1st Grade *Illinois, USA
Cromb Family *Adelaide, Australia
Holger Ermel *Stralsund, Germany
The Spencer Kids *Alaskan Igloo, USA
The Spencer Kids *Alaska's Northern Lights, USA

Thank you!:)


We've sent 21 Postcards in September.