Sheila G. Bell of West Windsor was chosen as a participant in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. A second grade teacher at Bartle Elementary School in Highland Park, she was selected from a national pool of more than 1,”700 applicants. The program allows educators in the U.S. to travel to Japan for three weeks in an effort to promote greater intercultural understanding between the two nations.##M:[more]##
Bell, among 200 teachers visiting Japan in October, begins her visit in San Francisco with a Japanese immersion program including Japanese life, culture, and meetings with Japanese government officials and educators. She will spend five days in Tokyo, several days in Himeji (400 miles west of Tokyo), and have a brief stay with a Japanese family. Bell, who will have direct contact with Japanese teachers and students during visits to schools and a teachers college, will also visit cultural sites and local industries.
Bell was born and raised in Indiana and is a graduate of Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Her husband, Marty Bell, is an executive recruiter in Plainsboro. Their daughter, Sandy Bell, graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, Class of 1999, and now lives in New York City. The family moved to West Windsor 20 years ago because of the school district’s reputation.
She read about the Japanese program in NJEA magazine two years ago. Her application included a very detailed follow-up plan. Last April she was notified that she was the New Jersey alternate and to be prepared to go to Japan at the last minute. Although the call did not materialize she was asked to apply again and this time she was the first choice in New Jersey.
Bell is intrigued with Kamishibai, a way of storytelling used in the 1940s and ‘50s by men in Japan who did not have other jobs. They created large story cards of Japanese stories, put the cards on their bicycles, and drove to rural villages. Children would pay a penny to buy candy and the man would tell the story — stopping at a crucial part to insure a repeat audience. “I hope to meet some of the older men in my travels,” she says.
Her follow-up plan includes presenting a copy of “Kamishibai Man” by Allen Say to each class. After reading, the children will rewrite the tale on cards, and present the folktale to the whole school in the spring.
During her time overseas Bell plans to communicate with her students at home via Skype, an Internet-based phone service.
