Teacher Scott Koenig Hopes to Broaden Educational Horizons

By Jayne Smith
Friday, May 01, 2009 at 6:17 p.m.

LE ROY -- Social Sciences teacher, Scott Koenig and four students from Pine River Area High School will soon be saying, "ni hao" to China. "Ni hao" translates to "hello" and it's just one of the words and phrases the high school juniors and seniors are learning.

The group will leave Michigan on June 14th and spend nine days exploring and learning about the culture and the country. They will be visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, taking in the sights of places like Tiananmen Square, the Terra Cotta Warriors, and the Great Wall.

Koenig chose China for this trip because of the way the country is changing and industrializing. "I want my students to gain confidence in travel and gain a multicultural understanding, " says Koenig. "I think it will be an eye opening experience. They'll see that other people are people no different than you and me. The world is much bigger than we often perceive it to be."

In preparation for the trip, the students are doing their homework. They're adding some Chinese words and phrases into their vocabularies and learning all about the culture before they get there.

Koenig says the economic times have been the main obstacle to the trip. Each student is responsible for raising their own funds however they can. The cost per traveller is around $2,800. Students have been writing letters asking for donations, collecting bottles and cans, and holding other fundraisers.