Embracing thE East 21st Century Institute focuses on the Eastern ...

Whatever they had, they were willing to share
… they’re a very generous people.”
imagEs of bhutan
After the trip to Bhutan,
Shaylah O’Connor ’14 had
lots of homework. That
is, sifting through her
digital photos—tens of
thousands of them.
With the help of Bob
Johnson, Chair of Visual
Arts, Shaylah whittled
the collection down to
a manageable sum that
was on display in the
Maude Bowen Carter
Gallery during the month
of May. Some of those
pictures can be seen on
these pages.
they were willing to share with you,” she said. “They’re a
very generous people.”
The trip was meant to be an experience that would have a
lifelong impact on those who went, and it was. One student
participant, Taylor, part of Cushing’s Model United Nations
group, had already been introduced to politics and foreign
policy, but the expedition to Bhutan deepened that interest
into a passion that may direct her future career path.
More than being just an educational experience for one
group of Cushing students and faculty, the trip was the first
step in building an ongoing partnership with a Bhutanese
high school that will open a dialog and exchange of ideas
between Cushing Academy and the Asian country.
According to the project’s lead educator and Cushing
history teacher Peter Clarke, there is a great need in Bhutan
for Internet-capable tablet devices, in part to facilitate the
exchange of educational materials like textbooks in a country
whose roads can be an obstacle to efficient transportation,
but also to prepare the country’s people for modernization.
The Bhutanese people have only had television for about
five years—and Internet for even fewer—so the country’s
infrastructure for advanced networking is behind that of the
United States. But modernization is a priority for the country’s
leadership, and the partnership with Cushing will help
prepare Bhutanese educators to use technology effectively
and students to use it sensibly.
The relationship is about more than just sharing technology,
however. This summer, a symposium hosted in
Ashburnham by Cushing Academy and the Bhutan Canada
Foundation will help participants explore the question of
what education looks like in the <strong>21st</strong> century. Special focus
will be given to the Kingdom of Bhutan; specifically, on
Bhutan’s values-based approach to education and its success
in developing beneficial global partnerships.
In addition to the symposium, there will be several educational
exchanges. Beginning in the fall of 2012, a Bhutanese
high school student, from Ugyen Dorji Higher Secondary
School in Haa, will come to study at Cushing Academy and
by 2013, there will be two Bhutanese students studying in
Ashburnham. The Academy will also engage in a teacher
exchange with one or more Bhutanese educators visiting
Cushing Academy in 2013 on a fellowship funded by Cushing.
Clarke feels that while Cushing has much to offer the
Bhutanese in terms of knowledge and best practices for using
technology in education, so too can Cushing educators learn
from their Bhutanese counterparts and their dedication to
and focus on the well-being of individual students.
The expedition to Bhutan was just the beginning of an
ongoing relationship that will no doubt improve educational
opportunities for students in both Ashburnham, Mass., and
Bhutan.
To learn more about the symposium being hosted in Ashburnham by Cushing
Academy and the Bhutan Canada Foundation, visit educatingforhappiness.org.
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CuSHING TODAy