Ensights Magazine

Core Skills Across the Globe: Developing Cultural Competency

Grace Tseng, Middle School Chinese Teacher
We all want our students to be contributors to society, but don't we also want our students to be contributors to the global society?
This past summer was more eventful than any other summer that I have had. I have always been fascinated with and curious about other parts of the world, and I was fortunate to do what I love with my dear colleagues and our adventurous students from Ensworth. I had a mix of emotions before embarking on the trips to Belize and China because I was concerned yet eager and excited to see how the students would respond to such distinct cultural differences between those countries and the United States.

This summer started with the Belize trip. The trip is service-focused with the chance to work alongside the local students from the St. Matthew’s Government School.

This year’s collaborative community project was to repaint the front of St. Matthew’s. With the guidance of the World Leadership School trip leader, our students led the project by dividing the work amongst themselves and the Belizean students. Whenever there was a break, our students were playing soccer, jumping rope, swinging, and interacting with the local students. Yes, this also included giving schoolchildren piggyback rides around the field. The students at St. Matthews do not have a lot, but they continually offered their snacks, brought gifts, and wrote notes to our students because they were so excited and appreciative to interact with students from another country. I know our students were grateful to be in their presence as well. This trip was a huge success as it allowed our students to venture outside of their comfort zone and be a part of the Belizean community. Our students learned not only more about themselves as leaders, but also had a blast learning about the importance of individual identity.

Next was the China trip with 17 of our high school students. For the first few days, we visited historical landmarks. Despite the humid and hot weather at those places, the students used their best communicative efforts to bargain with the local street vendors and get the best prices for their souvenirs. We later traveled to a different city to do language and culture exchanges with Chinese students. It was interesting to see how Ensworth and Chinese students started collaborating to create skits, play games, and ask questions about each other’s culture. Our students learned to communicate with hand gestures, by slowing down their speech, and even by finding other ways to explain things to their Chinese friends. The next part of the trip was one of my favorites because we experienced the rigid student routine in a traditional Chinese martial arts school. I know most of the student travelers would not agree with me about this part of the trip because this routine included two days of intense training, waking up early for a morning run, then going to the student canteen for meals. Many of the routines were challenging for us, and I know some of the students experienced some culture shock: I was pretty shocked myself! Several questions and discussions came up because this was a whole new experience for everyone in the group. In the end, this trip was unique due to the large cultural differences and language limitation for the students. Ultimately, the purpose of this trip was not about the food we ate, the wonders we saw, or even the people we met; it was about the relationships we built, the confidence we gained, and the love of the experience.

Both of these trips opened my eyes even more as an educator and a traveler. In today’s society, the importance of nurturing our children with global views and cultural awareness is critical.

The upcoming generations will be competing with diverse talents around the world; more importantly, they will be collaborating with them. Ensworth’s international trips provide our students with extensive opportunities to become global citizens. After all, as stated in the mission statement, we all want our students “to be contributors to society,” but don’t we also want our students to be contributors to the global society?
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Red Gables Campus (K–8)

Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 383-0661

Frist Campus (9–12)

Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 301-5400
Ensworth is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade, independent day school.