Students at Krste Petkov Misirkov in Bistrica, Macedonia connect virtually with students at Ferry Pass Middle School in Pensacola, Florida.
After hours of bonding over Lava Monster victories and defeats and the traumas of school lunch meat, friends in 1980s schoolyards across America often found themselves engaged in a debate: Who would be the “BE-FRI” and who would be the “ST-END” half of the trendy “BEST FRIEND” heart dangle rings? Thirty years later, a two-piece heart puzzle is still a respectable reminder that friendship requires two halves that willingly coming together to create something wonderful.
Over the last eight months, students at Krste Petkov Misirkov in Bistrica, Macedonia have partnered with students at Ferry Pass Middle School in Pensacola, Florida for the Dreams and Friendship Exchange. Like any friendship, the transatlantic relationship requires a willing and consistent commitment from both parties — and both have more than risen to the occasion. Students meet virtually once a month, they contribute to online conversations, they prepare cultural presentations, and they occasionally collaborate on creative projects. In their already over-committed teaching schedules, both Julijana Georgievska in Macedonia and Catherine Bauer in Florida somehow manage to find a way to make Dreams and Friendship happen for their students.
Given that the Dreams and Friendship Exchange was developed to encourage interethnic understanding and collaboration within classrooms in Macedonia, much of the project takes place locally. The connection with Ferry Pass, however, remains a key and invaluable component of the project, and one to be grateful for, especially considering their involvement is completely voluntary.
Ferry Pass’ remarkable commitment can be attributed to Bauer, who is at the helm of the Florida class. Bauer shares lessons and trades ideas with Georgievska. She helps facilitate monthly virtual meetings that include literature analyses and cultural sharing. At the beginning of the project, she set up an online forum where students can communicate with each other. For all of this, she receives no grant money, no technical support, and no other incentives. She does it because she wants to and because she is the kind of teacher who wants the experience for her students.
“I like to think that because of this project my students will be more likely to travel abroad to learn or to teach,” Bauer says. “I hope they are more likely to be open to other cultures and languages. I hope they will have some sense of global perspective…I hope they have learned more about themselves, [and] I hope they realize that they have helped others learn.”
Bauer’s forty-five sixth grade students have plenty to be proud of about the connection they have made with the students in Macedonia. From their presence at virtual meetings to creating a Prezi presentation to share American culture, they have been active and generous partners in the exchange.
Most recently, the students at Ferry Pass have shown their leadership as veterans of the Dream Flag Project, which Krste Petkov Misirkov is participating in for the first time. The Dream Flag Project is an annual poetry and art project inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes and the tradition of Buddhist prayer flags in which students around the world write their dreams on cloth flags and join each other in sending their dreams into the world through the flags’ public display. Ferry Pass has ten years of experience with the project, which Bauer coordinates for the school. In April’s online meeting, her students shared some examples of flags they had made this year, as well as their contagious enthusiasm for the project, inspiring the students in Macedonia as they began to create their own dream flags.
The students in Florida are not only eager to share; they also are avid learners. Isabella S. in Florida says, “I enjoyed getting to know [the students in Macedonia] through the virtual exchange and learning new things about another culture and their traditions.”
Jayla W. adds, “I learned to explore and venture out to the unknown.”
The metaphor of exploration is fitting. The international exchange extends the exploration of diversity that is at the center of the Dreams and Friendship Exchange from a local to a global context and gives students in both countries knowledge of cultures and ethnicities that are outside their daily experiences. The hope is that the global exchange is like stretching a rubber band beyond its normal limit. After extending past what is usual, students’ daily “stretches” may not seem as big as they may have before. From Georgievska’s perspective, that is exactly the effect the Dreams and Friendship Exchange has had.
“The connection with Ferry Pass…has been a great way for us to learn how to make cultural differences an advantage and not an obstacle to making new friendships.” Georgievska says.
Bauer agrees that the experience of the Dreams and Friendship Exchange has been inspirational and that an important connection has been made. “[It has] added meaning and purpose to the students’ learning. We feel a great responsibility and bond to our learning exchange,” Bauer explains.
So, as the project comes to a close with the end of the academic year, Bauer and Georgievska may have only one thing to debate: Who will be the “BE-FRI” and who will be the “ST-END” half of this friendship?
* Read this article on the official blog of the Dreams and Friendship Exchange here. To learn more about the Dreams and Friendship Exchange, please read our initial blog.
* The views expressed on this site do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations. They are the observations and reflections of someone who likes good stories.