Special delivery: Local students are pen pals with Kenya
Some may say that letter writing is a lost art. But at Stephen Decatur Middle School, it's letters that help about 150 seventh grade students learn about life 7,500 miles away.
It's the third year students at Decatur have taken part in a pen-pal program with their peers at Mwaasua Primary School, Wamunyu, Machakos, Kenya. World geography teacher Scott Kurtz inherited the program while he was at Pocomoke Middle School five years ago and he brought it to Decatur when he started teaching there.
The connection was made through Kenya Connect, an Elkridge, Maryland nonprofit that strives to strengthen education by connecting with other students outside of Kenya.
"It took learning beyond textbooks, beyond digital media and beyond newspapers. It's a one-on-one account from a kid their age," Kurtz said. "It just gives a unique perspective that you really can't get anywhere else. It's a really neat experience to get real life answers."
After lessons on Africa are taught, students in his and Sandy Friedman's classes type letters to the Kenyan students. They provide information on themselves and the community and ask about geography and life in a foreign country. They'll send photos of the area along, as well.
It takes about two weeks for the Kenyan students to respond, Kurtz said.
"It's like Christmas. They can't wait. That anticipation, to me, is fun," Kurtz said. "Once they've written them they can't wait. They ask me on a daily basis if they've come yet."
In return, the Kenyan students hand-write letters back and usually include drawings. The letters are scanned into a computer and sent to Kurtz via email. The Kenyan students ask similar questions, but also about famous athletes and whether their U.S. counterparts have met Barack Obama.
"We're a much larger country, so their perspective is a little bit different," he said.
For seventh grader Hanna Beck, she thought the pen-pal program would be an interesting way to learn about other parts of the world. Her pen pal, Kiilu, likes to play soccer, has pets and loves to draw, she said.
"It's a better way to expand your mind about learning about different places and different cultures," she said.
443-210-8125
On Twitter @JonBleiweis and Facebook at Facebook.com/byjonbleiweis