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In this article, Dani writes about the visit from Japanese Keisei High School students to GPHS.
keisei at BOatnik
keisei at BOatnik
By: Dani Porterfield
By: Dani Porterfield
Boatnik season was a hit this year! Annually, Grants Pass, Oregon gets the honor of hosting multiple Memorial Day celebrations in the form of Boatnik, near the Rogue River. Grants Pass School District 7 and its programs are extremely involved in celebrating via both the parade and fair. This year was not only unique and exciting but also added an educational twist.
On Memorial Day weekend, Grants Pass High School's Marching Band and Color Guard brought some friends with them into the parade. Our dear friends from Keisei High School flew from Japan, spanning 24 hours. This trip was not just to be in Grants Pass, but also so they could both march alongside the blue band and show off at multiple performances in the Performing Arts Center. The performers certainly made a name for themselves while they were here, with multiple local organizations mentioning them in their headlines. One of these mentioned news organizations was The Daily Courier, which stated that “More than 5,000 miles separate the two high schools… yet they are also connected by something just as vast: the universal language of music…a cultural exchange program that is bringing together young musicians from the two countries to explore their shared love of music.” The exchange program is an experience fostering a new form of thinking for these students.
These exchange programs are not just for fun but also to educate on a greater topic: the power of communication. The students of GPHS and Keisei are separated by culture and language but are able to communicate in a universal way-- through music. According to Education Week, “While we may not be able to understand exactly what people are saying across different languages, humans have evolved to share and express the same basic emotions in similar ways…we can still interpret emotions based on pitch, rhythm, and tempo. Because of these shared attributes across all cultures, music is one thing we can all agree upon and understand, making it the universal language of mankind”. Music transcends language boundaries, and moves people universally in a similar yet equally unique way. Different tempos, rhythms and pitches tie into one's emotions in a relatively similar way around the world, unlike anything else, proving the individuality of music as a whole.
The Grants Pass and Keisei students got to experience a unique, one-of-a-kind idea. They explored each other's culture and their individuality while coming together as one program and community, regardless of the greater language barrier. The recent adventures this community just lived will be one they will surely remember and be affected by for a lifetime, showing the power of the simple yet complex world of communication.
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