Freeman Foundation project director: International education more important than ever

After almost four decades of work to promote international education mostly in Vermont, Dr. Juefei王, the Project Director at 弗里曼基金会, says mutual cultural understanding is more important now than it ever has been.  

王 made the case for international education at Saint Michael’s College during International Education Week – an annual celebration of “programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, 学习, 交流经验,根据美国的说法.S. 国务院. 美国国务院和美国国务院正在努力解决这一问题.S. Department of Education helped establish International Education Week, which is recognized by colleges around the country.

Dr. Juefei王, Project Director at 弗里曼基金会, speaks at Saint Michael’s College on Nov. 14, 2023. (摄影:Elizabeth Murray)

王’s talk was one in a slate of events hosted by the College’s 全球参与研究所 during the week of Nov. 13-17. 王的组织, 弗里曼基金会, provides grants to 30 colleges across the country – including Saint Michael’s – to send students to countries in East Asia to complete internships. 去年夏天, 15 students who were awarded these grants completed internships in Ho Chi Minh, 越南, 和首尔, 韩国. 

Political Science and International Relations Professor 杰弗里·艾尔斯, 中心主任, called 弗里曼基金会 internship program a “flagship program at the College for global engagement.” 

王, 北京人, 中国, has spent much of his career promoting and studying the impacts of global education and international exchanges of culture, 语言与知识. 在90年代, he founded and directed the statewide Program for Asian Studies in Schools in Vermont, a highlight of which was exchange trips for students and educators between Asian countries and Vermont. 整体, he created conditions for more than 1,200 American educators and students to visit 中国, 日本和泰国, and for more than 600 Asian educators and students to visit the U.S. 

“We believed that to have actual 学习ing take place in students’ minds, we would need to practice physical experience and physical appearance,王说. “通过环顾四周, listening to conversations in the local languages, smiling the smiles … and talking with local people, their understanding of Asian cultures would be deeper and more comprehensive than reading books and watching videos.” 

和, 对于那些不能旅行的人, physical appearances by Asian teachers in Vermont schools became extremely important.  

“同时, the visiting teachers could improve their English skills and experience American culture,王说. 

杰弗里·艾尔斯, the Director of the 全球参与研究所 and Chair of the Political Science and International Relations Department, 介绍了博士. Juefei王, Project Director at 弗里曼基金会, during an event on Nov. 14, 2023. (摄影:Elizabeth Murray)

By 2008, more than 60% of Vermont schools offered education on Asia, 王 said. The goal was to make Vermont a model for the rest of the country in international exchange and education. The Freeman Foundation helped support these efforts. 

“我们建立了友谊。, 加深了理解, and pleasant memories of the bonds with each other would remain fresh for years,王说.  

今天, 王 said he is unsure if many of these programs established through this statewide program still exist in Vermont schools since many of the educators involved in the program have since retired and U.S. ties with 中国 have become more tense. But, he said, he believes international education is more important in today’s world than ever.  

“今天, while we gather here in this quiet conference room on this beautiful campus, two wars are going on: the war between Russia and Ukraine and the war in the Middle East,王说. 他补充说, “解决世界上的问题, we need the people of various countries to understand each other. To reach that understanding, we need international education, more so today than ever before.” 

As a country often seen as a global leader, the U.S. can lead in this respect too, 王 said. 

“许多国家指望美国.S. for solutions to the issues they are facing,王说. “It is crucial that we promote and implement international education on a regular basis … through curriculum and various activities on campuses of schools at all levels.”