Multicultural Community Encounters for HS Students
by Erskine White, HS history teacher
Students in my Comparative Religions course recently had two opportunities to meet “up close and personal” with foreign-born Nashville area residents who taught them about their beliefs and cultures.
Students in my Comparative Religions course recently had two opportunities to meet “up close and personal” with foreign-born Nashville area residents who taught them about their beliefs and cultures.
First, as part of our unit on Chinese Philosophies/Religions, Yujia Liu came to USN to share her experiences growing up in China and her views on how ancient Confucian and Daoist values impact Chinese culture today. In a country which until just weeks ago had a “one child” policy, Yujia was raised in an unusual family with three sisters.
Until recently Yujia was a graduate assistant at Vanderbilt; today she works on education research data projects for Metro Nashville public schools. It was fascinating to see how the generalities we studied regarding Chinese religions/philosophies played out in the experience of one particular Chinese family. Yujia has met with my class for the past three years but will be returning to China before next year’s Religions class takes up Chinese religions. I need to find a way to get her passport revoked.
Until recently Yujia was a graduate assistant at Vanderbilt; today she works on education research data projects for Metro Nashville public schools. It was fascinating to see how the generalities we studied regarding Chinese religions/philosophies played out in the experience of one particular Chinese family. Yujia has met with my class for the past three years but will be returning to China before next year’s Religions class takes up Chinese religions. I need to find a way to get her passport revoked.
Last Thursday (November 12), as part of our Christianity unit, we visited one of Nashville’s two Ethiopian Orthodox churches. I was especially happy that USN employee Begashaw Asfaw (aka “BA”), a member of this church, was able to both drive us there and join the list of Nashville area residents who have become co-teachers in this class.
Once we arrived at the church, the priest gave us an hour explaining the unique history of his tradition, about which Ethiopians are justifiably proud. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is Christianity’s oldest church, even predating Catholicism, because its roots go back to pre-Christian Judaism. And Ethiopia is the oldest continually independent nation on earth because it is the only African nation to successfully resist European colonialism. I really enjoyed watching my students sit in a sanctuary that looked different from any they had seen before and learning about a proud culture and history they knew nothing about beforehand.
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Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.