Chatting and lively, students filed into the exhibit hall carrying tri-fold poster boards and lunch bags.
Soon they were in a flurry of activities, proudly presenting their research on countries and the United Nations, running from table to table in search of flag stickers for their passport books, and cheering on cultural dance performances. It will come in.
The 2,400 students who arrived Thursday at the Milwaukee Public Schools World Fair at the Baird Center spoke 35 languages and came from 17 schools with the highest concentrations of immigrants and refugees in MPS. The event, now in its ninth year, provides students with a glimpse of other cultures as well as an opportunity to showcase their own.
Willie Jude II, executive director of the MPS Foundation, which organizes the event, said it's also a way for students to learn how to communicate with people who are different from them.
“They're learning cultural intelligence and they don't know it,” Jude said.
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MPS students enthusiastically share new knowledge about the country
A long table was set up with dozens of poster boards and Chromebooks, with children seated in front of them, ready to share what they had learned.
Fourth-grader Ivory Lucas, 10, researched Burundi with her Nigerian-American and Karen-American classmates at Story School. Why a small East African country with a population of 12 million people?
“I like the name. It sounds creative. I've never heard of it before,” Ivory said. Her project partner Abdul Mohamed, also 10, pointed to Burundi on a map and agreed: “I like that it's so close to the equator.”
And there was Bushra Emran, a fourth-grader at Garland School whose parents are Jordanian and Palestinian. She loved creating posters about India and learning about food the most.
“That's very nice,” she said.
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For Kylie Xiong and Esther Shin, also fourth-graders at Garland School, some of the Nepali dishes that were the subject of the project seemed similar to those of their own Hmong and Chin peoples. The Chin people are a persecuted ethnic minority in Myanmar.
They understand the value of knowing other cultures.
“I want to know what they're going through,” Kylie says.
Esther speaks three languages: Burmese, Chin, and English. She embraces being the daughter of refugees.
“I actually feel pretty good because I'm kind of unique,” she said.
Garland, on Milwaukee's south side, has become something of an attraction for immigrant and refugee students. More than 10 languages are spoken in fourth grade teacher Jeffrey Gervais' classroom.
The World's Fair proves that Milwaukee is more diverse than people realize, Gervais said. And for children who rarely leave their communities, this is an opportunity to see a different perspective.
“You should try to respect everyone, not just those who look like you or have a name like you,” Gervais tells his students.
The event is part of a curriculum program of 17 MPS schools focused on global education called United Nations International Learning Schools. This fund is funded by the Annette J. Roberts & Joanne R. Robertson Fund for World Peace, World Law, and Peace Education. Robertson, a 108-year-old Milwaukee philanthropist, started the program in 2016 in memory of his late mother, Robertson, a pacifist and suffragist.
Joan Robertson said, “People should be lifelong learners and citizens of the world. They should be considerate of the world, embrace it, and strive to support other cultures and countries.'' '' said his daughter Annette Robertson. Volunteer work at events.
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Celebrate students' own culture
Late in the morning, students folded up their poster boards and sat down to watch dance, choir, drumming and a fashion show. It was a time for students to celebrate their culture.
Many adults may have applauded groups such as Vietnamese dancers from Rufus King High School and African dancers from Lincoln Center for the Arts. But from 4th to 8th grade? They cry out in gratitude. The sound resonated in a way that only 2,400 children could.
Kaiya Van and Mara Clara, both 11 years old, were preparing for a fashion show in traditional costumes. Her fifth-grader at Milwaukee Chinese Academy immigrated to the United States from Laos and Thailand when she was a junior, and each speaks at least her four languages.
They were all smiles when talking about their dresses. Kaiya wore a pink sash over her floral black and white dress, and Mara had white flowers in her blue and gold dress and her hair.
“You can show people this is where you're from,” Keir said.
Doug Savage, director of the World Affairs Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, also volunteered. He was thinking about the future of his students.
“It's certainly important to give them an opportunity to see places other than Milwaukee and Wisconsin,” he says. “Whether they're a diplomat, work in international business, or just never leave Milwaukee, other parts of the world are going to have some impact on their lives.”
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