Marshall teacher to give lessons from Bangladesh

Joseph Dunn, right, talks with his students about the items on the tables that were sent from different countries.

Photo by Susan Arensman

Joseph Dunn, seventh-grade social studies teacher at Marshall Middle School, will give his students some long-distance lessons on the culture of Bangladesh for two weeks. Dunn is one of two teachers in the U.S. selected to be part of a teacher exchange program through Relief International Schools Online.

Dunn left for Dhaka, Bangladesh on February 14. While overseas, Dunn will visit several schools to teach about life in the U.S. and in Kansas. He will stay in contact with Marshall students using blogs, videos and polycom presentations.

“I can't take them to Bangladesh, but I can try to bring a little bit of the country back to them,” Dunn said.

Dunn’s students have been involved in a cultural exchange with a school in Bangladesh since the beginning of the school year. The students have communicated via the internet and mailed items to each other to explain what life and customs are like in their countries. Dunn’s students also have shared items with students in Israel, Spain, Brazil and Taiwan.

“The students share food, games, clothing, magazines and anything that shows their culture,” Dunn said. “They have fun learning what is similar and what is different about us. They realize there are more similarities.”

Dunn shared that the boys in Bangladesh have asked if the girls at Marshall are cute.

“Some things are universal,” he laughed.

Dunn isn’t the only teacher at Marshall who will create lessons tied to the trip. Language arts, science and math teachers are using Dunn’s trip to engage students in the subjects.

“One of our lessons is comparing yearly rainfall totals here and in Bangladesh,” said Brett Kimber, seventh-grade math teacher. “We create charts and graphs to compare and contrast. The students are more engaged when they have a connection to what they’re learning.”

“The students are buzzing about this event,” said Mark Joliffe, principal at Marshall. “This opportunity ties directly into our vision of connecting our students to the world.”