Middle School World Languages Teacher Ms. Zuowei Chang invited Middle School PE Teacher Ms. Summer Beasley, who is also a dancer, to her 7th Grade class to discuss Ms. Beasley’s experience dancing in France. The students learned what it was like to prepare for a dance company trip, including how Ms. Beasley traveled with Dawn Karlovsky, the director of the company, to France over the summer to make connections for the performances. Ms. Beasley described the hospitality of the French, including what kind of food she ate and the housing that was available for dancers. She discussed the size difference between homes and apartments and talked about the differences between French and American history.
She led the class in a discussion comparing our own Cathedral Basilica St. Louis to Paris’ Notre Dame, including how their beauty is similar even while their ages are so different (the Basilica was constructed in 1914 and work started on Notre Dame in 1163).
Ms. Beasley also led the class in a discussion about how children are children no matter what country they come from. Children in France love to be silly and have fun, just like students at MICDS! They also discussed cultural differences, like how the French kiss on both cheeks and how the French people Ms. Beasley met thought it was funny that Americans hug people with the front of our bodies.
She also dove into the stereotypes of the French, and how her experience was quite different than what a lot of Americans might expect. “People are people everywhere, and different personalities are also found everywhere,” she said.