Freshmen Connect with Pakistani Students and Head of School

On the other side of the screen was Mr. Muhammad Yasser, who heads the Supreme Education School System. The Pakistani school prides itself on helping students “develop into literate, well-informed people, prepared to live in a responsible manner and judge wisely in matters of life and conduct.”

 

The conversation between the students and Yasser is the result of a partnership with Supreme Education School System, one of several international schools that The Masters School has forged relationships with as part of its Global and Civic Exchange Program.

 

The students who spoke with Yasser have also exchanged letters with students at his school, an idea conceived when Yasser visited Masters in May of 2015. The pen pal program has given students who live halfway across the world an opportunity to build connections and learn about each other’s cultures, from day-to-day experiences to favorite pop stars, sports, food and politics.

 

Masters students asked their Pakistani peers questions on subjects ranging from gender and education, to school discipline and dress code, which they learned, is much stricter in Mr. Yasser’s school. The ninth graders “were particularly interested in learning about the day-to-day of students in Pakistan and their impressions of the United States,” said Dr. Fish, who, in addition to teaching the freshman seminar, serves as Director of the Global and Civic Exchange Program.

 

Students plan to continue exchanging letters with their Lahore counterparts, and Fish is working to bring the pen pal exchange to another section of ninth grade seminar later in the year. He also hopes to develop new virtual exchanges with schools in other countries, in an effort to “invite people from all over the world to join our Harkness table.”