On June 5 in the IVECA virtual live class, students from Hanil High School in Korea and Luiza Formozinho Ribeiro Public School in Brazil traveled into the history with their partner students and shared amazing stories and cultural backgrounds about the historical events and political conflicts that took place in their country.
Students from both schools narrated the historical facts with rich information such as people’s lives under glorious Kings and Queens, the origin of International Women’s Day, and issues with native inhabitants and European explorers. Further, they exchanged their thoughts on the impacts of religious figures, colonial explorers, and famous warriors in their histories. Through this live class, students helped each other understand different historical accounts of travelers and cultures. They also were able to relate their own experiences to the global range of travel writings, personal memoir, and history.
One of the most interesting takeaways from this virtual class was that Brazilian students learned directly from their Korean partners regarding Sunshine Policy that was adopted at the historic Inter-Korean Summit in 2000. One Korean student explained, “The Sunshine Policy is a foreign policy aiming at peaceful reunification by cooperating and supporting North Korea.” Korean students’ narratives on their history enabled Brazilian students to connect Korea’s past with the current world event happening in Korean Peninsula and other countries for peace and security. Both Korean and Brazilian students expressed their joy of learning and desire for their future collaboration through IVECA.
Students’ learning experience was reflected through the closing remarks of teachers and principals from both schools:
“I am speechless again! The opportunities this project promotes to students all over the world is unique. We are more than grateful for taking part. Thank you IVECA’s team for such a great job and supporting!” (English Teacher, Brazil)
“The challenges[program activities] proposed for sure have already brought enormous educational learning. This really makes us global citizens in search of a better world.” (History teacher, Brazil)
“I believe that this experience has been a great opportunity for students in both countries to learn about each other. I encourage you to think of today’s class as not the end but a new beginning and hope for each other’s best although we are far apart.” (Principal, Korea)