10 Japanese students 'broaden horizons' in visit to Shaler Area

Hailing from Niigata High School on Japan’s western coast, 10 Japanese students attended three days of classes at Shaler Area.

The students, mostly third-year high schoolers, sat in on science, technology, engineering and math classes from March 10-12 in an effort to learn more about American STEM education.

Michael Burke, Duquesne University’s director of international student services, said the visit was organized by the college’s Center for Global Engagement. It chose to embed the students at Shaler Area High School because of its preexisting Japanese program, he said.

In past years, Burke said his program had hosted students from Pittsburgh’s Japanese sister city, Saitama. But word about Pittsburgh’s educational opportunities, he said, spread to Niigata on the other side of Honshu, Japan’s main island.

In addition to participating in American-style STEM education, Burke said the students focused on English language and cultural exchange. While here, he said the students stayed in the homes of local families.

“I think this is a good thing and opens up for cultural understanding and cooperation, even on this small scale, between people from different countries,” Burke said.

As part of that development, Burke said Duquesne guided the students through Pittsburgh landmarks such as the Cathedral of Learning, Carnegie Science Center, Senator John Heinz History Center and the Strip District.

At the high school, Japanese teacher Steve Balsomico said that even though the students focused on STEM, he also organized conversation sessions between the visiting students and their Shaler Area peers who are learning Japanese.

One of the visiting students, Momo Sugita, said she enjoyed her stay in Pittsburgh and described her Shaler peers as “talkative and curious.”

In science classes, she said there were more opportunities for group and hands-on activities than in the more lecture-focused Japanese curriculum. Though initially anxious about her first trip to the United States, Sugita said she appreciated the opportunity to “broaden her perspectives” and improve her English.

In her sustainability and biology classes, Shaler Area teacher Abbey Nilson said her students were “extremely excited” to interact with the Japanese students during group activities. The students, she said, had the opportunity to build and test a miniature electric car and participate in a blood typing lab.

Nilson said cross cultural exchanges such as these “benefit everyone,” and though she wishes the students could have stayed longer, she said she believes they had a “positive experience.”

Balsomico said the visit also was enlightening for his students, who got to apply their Japanese education in conversation. And at the same time, he said he could see the visiting students develop confidence in their English.

Though the practice is not unique to Shaler Area, Balsomico said many of the Japanese students were shocked by the amount of food waste at lunch, coming from a nation where it is customary to finish one’s portion.

“You can learn a lot about yourself and your culture in interactions like these,” Balsomico said.

In the future, Burke said Duquesne hopes to host Niigata students annually and likely in larger numbers, something Balsomico said he fully supports.