Active Cross Cultural Training in Our Neighborhoods ACTION, spent the day with students at the Andrew Jackson School to celebrate International Day, an event to celebrate Spanish language and culture.
ACTION helps spread cultural diversity through the Philadelphia School District, including the Andrew Jackson School, Henry C. Lea School of Practice, Samuel B. Huey School and B.B. Comegys Public School. The student organization teaches students Spanish twice a week. ACTION also tries to spread wider understanding of Spanish language and culture to students of the Philadelphia School District.
Cultural music played through the hallways as excited children began their International Day celebrations. The children interacted with ACTION members and played games such as guessing the locations of countries on a large map and playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Each ACTION member was in charge of a different cultural to teach the Andrew Jackson students.
Each ACTION member was in charge with teaching kids about a particular culture; some Penn students mixed the different cultures together.
“Penn students were able to interact with younger students and help them learn about different cultures," College junior and ACTION member Roger Lee said.
The school had displays throughout the hallways about Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Central America and Mexico. A table representing Japanese culture with diverse music and foods was also represented among the Spanish-speaking country displays.
“Not too many schools in the region offer this type of cross-cultural training," Wharton junior and ACTION member Sean Bivins said. "ACTION tries to fill the void of multicultural learning that is not stressed as much compared to the rest of the world.”
Students enjoyed speaking Spanish and learning about the different cultures and the importance of diversity. It was evident that International Day represented ACTION’s goal of empowering students who lack access to foreign language and cultural education in order to live globally.
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