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| Sunday, 27 July 2008 19:49 |
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From Rnews.com: In a city as diverse as Rochester, there are still segments that have no interaction with other cultures. The Boys and Girls Club is trying to change that by offering a program where city kids share after school activities with those from the suburbs, but not just any suburb. "I was expecting them to try and teach us to talk their language and I didn't think the kids would want to interact with us because we wasn't their type of culture," School 29 fifth grader Lakeya Quinn explained. This isn't your typical suburban school; this is the Hillel School in Brighton where a Jewish education is the main goal. "I thought it would be fun to meet other people and to see what they learn and all that stuff," said Hillel fourth grader Lily Madeb. For most of these kids, this is the first opportunity they have to mingle with others who may not look like them. "It makes me meet new people; learn about new people and about their culture and what they do everyday,” said Cori’Ana Johnson, a fifth grader at School 29. “It makes me learn more about what's out there in our world." Their cultures may be different, but what these kids are realizing is that they have a lot more in common than they ever thought. Even though they tend to stick with their own at first, it doesn't take long to get to know their new friends. "I thought they were going to be more like speaking Hebrew around you, and you would see them in the classroom learning and the teacher talking in Hebrew," said School 29 fifth grader Leann Malcolm. "I know that there are lots of nice people and I wanted to meet some of them,” said Lilah Shrier, a fifth grader at Hillel School. “I know it's rough in the city but I wanted to get to know some kids." When they finally do open up, the students are usually quite surprised with what they find out. "I found that the people are really friendly and you can make friends really quickly,” Hillel fifth grader Elana Pogal said. “It's just fun to meet other people and I think that other schools should do the same kind of thing." The diversity program is now in its third year with 156 students are enrolled through School 29. Different kids participate each week allowing them all to engage in this cultural exchange. |
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