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Molino Park Students Study Egypt In Global Corner Program

October 19, 2009

Students at Molino Park Elementary School took a grand field trip last week to the faraway world of Egypt, thanks to Pensacola non-profit organization called The Global Corner International Learning Center.

During the week, Molino Park students learned how to write their numbers from waahid to ashara (1-10) or about hieroglyphs and the history of writing; about ancient and modern Egyptian musical instruments and dances; what it’s like to be growing up in Egypt today; about the world during Ancient Egyptian times (including how the Egyptians used a dung beetle as an important symbol); and how to say their color and shape words in Arabic or about the Ancient Egyptian art schema.

“Our goal is to help children understand the world around them,” Global Corner founder Lee Little said. “We bring the world to life one child at a time.”

Little founded the Global Corner after she retired from the Navy in 2006.

“I went from being in charge of 400 people and 100 airplanes to being a teacher out of my station wagon,” Little, the former commodore of Training Air Wing 6 at Pensacola Naval Air Station, said. “I think it is important that children learn about the world around them.”

Little, who speaks Japanese, chose Japan for the first Global Corner lessons because she once lived there. That was followed by Spain last year, to coincide with Pensacola’s 450th birthday observance with the visiting Spanish tall ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain.

She picked Egypt for this year’s lesson because she wanted a country on the African continent, and “Egpyt is such a fun place. All of the kids of hear about it”.

Little spent time in a foreign policy think tank, helping to shape the United State’s understanding of North and South Korea. She would tell people about her job and realized that Americans just did not understand the world around them.

“You could meet people and talk to them about foreign countries, and their eyes would just glaze over. Americans, in general, just don’t know much about the world around them.”

With a Master’s degree in international affairs, she saw two possible ways to bring a worldly understanding to residents of Pensacola and surrounding communities. The obvious choice seemed to be becoming a college professor, but she decided to start a little younger with the Global Corner.

Molino Park’s Egyptian adventure did not end with last week’s classroom presentations. The Global Corner has a website — theglobalcorner.org — where parents and children can visit to learn more about Egypt and the Global Corner program. Since the program is presented in area schools for free, the organization also needs donations to continue their programs. Details on on the website.

Molino Park is not the only North Escambia school that will visit Egypt this school year via the Global Corner. The program is scheduled to visit Jim Allen Elementary January 11-15, Bratt Elementary January 21-22 and Byrneville Elementary April 6-8.

Lee said she plans to offer the program again next school year with a visit to a South American country, mostly likely Brazil.

Click here for more photos from Global Corner at Molino Park Elementary.

Pictured top: Students learn about Egypt during Global Corner week at Molino Park Elementary School. Pictured top inset: Learning to “walk like an Egyptian” is a necessity when learning about the country. Pictured inset: Students created Egyptian art. Pictured below: Global Corner at Molino Park. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News