In Kerron Miller's fifth grade classroom at Kyle Wilson Elementary School, a large Jamaican flag hangs behind her desk. Miller enjoys teaching her students about her native country.
Before
starting
her
career
with
PWCS
in
2019,
she
was
a
teacher
at
Hillel
Academy,
an
international
school
in
Kingston,
Jamaica,
where
she
taught
fifth
grade
for
five
years
and
sixth
grade
for
two
years.
Miller
continues
to
foster
a
relationship
with
teachers
at
her
former
school
through
sharing
ideas.
The
connection
offered
the
opportunity
for
Miller
to
expose
her
students
to
an
international
literature
lesson.
A
virtual
group
lesson
with
Carol
Levy's
fifth
grade
class
at
Hillel
Academy
started
with
the
students
sharing
information
about
their
schools,
then
a
student
from
each
class
read
a
common
folktale
from
their
culture.
Kyle
Wilson
Elementary
students
shared
a
tale
about
Johnny
Appleseed
and
Hillel
students
read
a
folktale
featuring
Anansi
the
spider.
"This
activity
encourages
a
partnership
between
fifth
graders
in
Jamaica
and
the
USA
sharing
an
aspect
of
culture
that
we
both
have
in
common,
storytelling.
Students
should
see
that
we
all
have
similarities
and
that
folktales
can
be
found
in
various
cultures
all
over
the
world.
There
is
also
the
hope
that
students
learn
to
appreciate
other
cultures,"
Miller
explained.
After
sharing
the
folktales,
students
talked
about
the
weather
and
what
attending
school
has
been
like
during
the
pandemic.
Nathen
Shaw,
a
student
in
Miller's
class
said,
"I
enjoyed
the
cultural
exchange
and
listening
to
the
various
accents
of
Hillel
Academy
students."
Classmate
Ariana
Leonard
shared,
"It
was
super
fun
to
see
students
in
another
country
at
school
just
like
me."
Miller
and
Levy
plan
to
begin
an
e-pal
program
where
students
exchange
emails.
The
teachers
hope
the
students
will
discover
and
appreciate
cultural
differences
and
similarities
while
learning
more
about
their
international
friends.