Ocean City Teacher Brings Educational Opportunity Back From China Trip

Ocean City Intermediate School teacher Cholehna Weaver brings a unique perspective to her Social Studies and Language Arts classes this school year.

After all, she did spend four weeks in China this summer.

Weaver was one of 16 educators from around the country selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, for the trip.

“The Ocean City School District congratulates Cholehna on her selection as a participant in the Fiscal Year 2015 Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program, and hopes that her participation resulted in a very productive and enjoyable learning experience that she can share with the entire OCIS family,” said Ocean City School District Superintendent Kathleen Taylor, Ed.D., who honored Weaver at a Board of Education meeting in June.

Weaver, a teacher at Ocean City Intermediate School since 2013, stayed in four Chinese cities during her visit, including Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, and Chongqing. They were chosen to highlight different aspects of the country.

The itinerary included meetings, discussions and site visits to governmental agencies, media outlets, and historic and cultural sites designed to complement lectures and provide an immersive learning experience.

“It was amazing and eye-opening. I didn’t know a lot about China before going, so I was interested in learning more about it,” Weaver said. “I’m extremely grateful for the support of the Ocean City School District administration. This was a once in a lifetime trip and I’m already looking at other opportunities that will help me bring other things into the classroom.”

Weaver’s students and their parents/guardians were able to follow Weaver’s exploits via Instagram. She even posed questions while abroad that her students could answer for small tokens and gifts Weaver brought back from China.

Weaver currently is working on a curriculum project that she will incorporate into her classroom in the next few months, focusing on city management of population growth.

“We’ll look at China’s challenges and how their city development projects have been very rapid,” Weaver said. “My hope is that the kids in my class can brainstorm and think about what sustainable city development looks like and how to grow without encroaching on environmental and land resources.”

Weaver said her project was inspired by Chinese buildings and cities that are doing “out-of-the-box” things to grow, such as vertical farming.

Weaver and the 15 other scholarship recipients participated in a two and a half-day pre-departure orientation in San Francisco prior to their departure.

The orientation included sessions on the Chinese Language, Chinese History, the Economics of the Chinese Middle Class, and Modern Chinese Society.

The program accepted applications for all K-12 educators, administrators, and media resource specialists who are responsible for curriculum and instruction in the social sciences, humanities, foreign languages, and area studies.

The Seminars Abroad Program is administered by the U.S. Department of Education’s International and Foreign Language Education office and the Office of Postsecondary Education, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State. Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program participants all are required to develop and submit a curriculum unit that is relevant to their teaching or administrative responsibilities.

The curriculum project that is created is designed to serve as a valuable resource for other educators who do not have the opportunity to participate in such a program, according to the Department of Education’s website.

The attached images were provided by the Ocean City School District:

Photo 1 - Cholehna Weaver, Ocean City Intermediate School teacher, spent four weeks this summer in China on a J. William Fulbright scholarship.

Photo 2 – Weaver was one of 16 educators selected from around the country for the trip.

Photo 3 – Cholehna Weaver took a “selfie” overlooking the Chongqing skyline in July 2015.