District 128 students heading to China
Following in the footsteps of some globe-trotting principals, 35 Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 students will travel to China this summer.
The roughly two-week trip is the district's first cultural-exchange program with China, a nation that's been under increased public scrutiny lately because of the upcoming Beijing Olympics and human-rights issues.
District officials called the trip a once-in-a-lifetime cultural and educational opportunity.
"It's really an experience that transcends anything that they're ever going to experience within their high school walls," District 128 spokeswoman Mary Todoric said. "Not everyone has the opportunity to do something like this."
Libertyville High Principal Brad Swanson was among about 80 educators from English-speaking nations who participated in an educational forum in China last year. Mundelein High School Deputy Superintendent/Principal John Ahlgrim also attended.
Swanson, who returned to China during spring break with some of the teachers who will go on the upcoming trip, expects the program will challenge the students' concepts of China.
"I think they'll be overwhelmed with some facets of the society -- in a good way -- and overwhelmed by the size and grandeur of some of the cities," Swanson said. "And they'll possibly be overwhelmed by the traditions and the pride that Chinese students and citizens have in their country."
Students haven't yet been chosen for the trip. An application process is set for this month.
The program is scheduled to run June 8-24. The bulk of the program will be at Dalian University in Dalian, a modern city on the northeastern coast of China. The group will stay in university dorms while there.
The final four days of the trip will be spent in Beijing, China's capital. The group will visit the Great Wall and the Forbidden City and shop at local vendors. The group will stay at Western-style hotels during this leg of the trip.
The group will be accompanied by bilingual hosts in Dalian, and it will work with English-speaking groups in Beijing.
Before they leave, the teens will be made aware of the recent political unrest and violence in China, much of which has focused on Tibet, as well as its reputation for human-rights violations, District 128 officials said.
A boycott is not being considered.
"Our absence would have no symbolic or economic impact on the government of China," a report about the trip on the district Web site reads. "However, our presence and continued relationships after we leave could have very positive effects(on) the lives of individual people, not to mention the understanding that will be brought into our own lives."
The journey will cost each student about $5,000. Corporate and community sponsorship and fundraisers could offset some of the costs, district officials said.