New program teaches more than English

Though he began his Princeton career taking Chinese "on a whim," Rory Truex '07 has taken his appreciation for the language beyond the classroom.

Building off his experience in the Princeton-in-Beijing (PiB) and Princeton-in-Asia (PiA) programs, Truex inaugurated "Summer of Service," a new program in which 11 undergraduates taught at an English immersion program in rural Jishou, China, last summer.

"It's so easy to do so much good," Truex said. "Students in China study English from age 10, and the focus is mainly on memorization. They study with Chinese teachers, but never have a chance to speak the language."

"We were able to reach them on a different level and give them an opportunity they never had," he added.

Truex thought of the trip after he participated in PiB and held a PiA internship teaching English in China after his sophomore year. He broached the concept to PiA, who "signed on and helped with recruiting, funding and marketing."

"We received support from numerous multifaceted groups," said PiA's program director Leslie Medema, who coled the trip and gave administrative support to the Summer of Service group. Funds came from the Class of 1948, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS), the Pace Center, the Princeton Prospect Foundation and individual donors, Medema said. Alumni provided additional support.

The program lasted from June 22 through Aug. 18. Participants began by spending 10 days sightseeing. For the rest of the summer, they taught English for more than six hours a day in classes at the college and organized extracurricular activities.

"The trip was absolutely amazing," participant Andrew Turco '07 said in an email.

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According to Truex, English immersion programs like Summer of Service are a rare commodity in China. He said he spoke with an assistant teacher at the college in Jishou who had taken an immersion class at Beijing University, one of the top Chinese schools, who said that the Summer of Service program was equivalent or better.

The college where they taught is located in the Hunan province of southwestern China, one of the country's poorer areas. As a result, the trip "was serving an underserved population with an opportunity that didn't exist there," Medema said.

"A major focus was to encourage the students to talk in English with confidence," Truex said. "Whether it was while they were playing basketball, rapping or debating, we tried to teach English for everyday life. By the end of the trip, [the Chinese students] were able to articulate their ideas and opinions."

Turco organized a photography class as his extracurricular activity, while other students organized activities ranging from hip-hop music to political and philosophical debates.

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"For me, the most significant thing besides teaching English was the fact that, although it was not originally our primary intention, I really felt as though we taught them how to think critically and think academically," Turco said.

Truex emphasized that the Summer of Service group tried to "tackle issues not raised in class."

For example, the Princeton students engaged their peers in a discussion of the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. "One student memorized the 'I have a dream' speech, and did it in front of the class," Truex said.

Truex and others said they were pleased with the program's outcome.

"The trip went as smoothly as possible," Truex said.

Medema said she was impressed by the interaction between Princetonians and their Chinese counterparts.

"It was so amazing that in a really short time, our students had such a highly emotional and personal relationship with their peers in China," Medema said.

PiA hopes to continue the program on into future years. "We definitely want to support Summer of Service in the future; there's so much more we'd like to do going forward," Medema said. "We'd love to expand the program as a model for other service trips to China and around the world."

"My dream is to come back in 10 years, and be able to talk with students who participated in Summer of Service," Truex said.