Jan. 3, 2024 / Peterson Elementary School fifth-graders learned about Japan and its culture from a guest Japanese teacher on Wednesday (Jan. 3), asking questions and trying their hand at origami, the Japanese art of paper folding.
The special guest – Yasuyo – owns a private English-language school in Kagoshima with her husband, Ken Coulson, a 1978 Henley High School graduate and longtime family friend of Peterson fifth-grade teacher Stephanie Hull. With them was their 13-year-old son Josh.
The Coulsons were visiting family in Klamath Falls and reached out to Hull, offering to teach a culture lesson at the school as a way of saying thank you for the efforts of Peterson teachers five years ago. In August 2019, Hull and other teachers at Peterson hosted Ken, Yasuyo, and a group of Japanese students from Kagoshima, teaching them academic lessons and taking them on field trips, including a nature walk along Spring Creek and even a tour of Oregon Tech.
On Wednesday, Yasuyo answered questions from students, told them interesting facts and stories about Japan, and then gave them a chance to create origami.
Hull believes it is important for students to learn about other cultures and countries.
“Kids here aren’t exposed to very many cultures, and I wanted to open their horizons,” she said. “It’s so important for them to understand the world outside of Klamath Falls.”
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