HAMPDEN – Area teachers participated recently in a two-week institute on Chinese history and culture at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. SAD 22 English teacher Deborah Berry, alternative education teacher Ellen Pariser and social studies teacher Sharyn Hastings, and Bangor High School English teacher Tori Kornfield were selected to participate in the institute.

The four teachers planned to integrate the study of China into their school curricula.

“Realizing that China will be the second world economic power after the United States in the year 2009 – making it a major factor in my students’ futures – and realizing that my students know very little about Chinese history and culture spurred my desire to expose them to that country’s 3,000-year-old literary traditions,” Berry said.

“My interest was sparked by a visit to China in the fall of 2000,” said Kornfield. “I promised myself I would learn more about this country’s amazing history and culture and share this knowledge with my students.”

A highlight of the trip included talking with professors from Harvard University, Williams College and the University of Vermont. The group also was able to experience being the first group to utilize the newly renovated Peabody Essex Museum and the museum’s recently re-erected 18th century Yin Yu Tang house from a southeastern province in China.

The four teachers plan to continue to develop curriculum materials this summer when they attend an institute on ancient China and participate in a three-week study tour of China.

To learn more about the Yin Yu Tang house at the Peabody Essex Museum, visit www.pem.or/yinyutang/.