As a kid growing up in Kentucky and the Midwest, Sherry Sizemore may never have dreamed of leading a group of students on a month-long trip to China.##M:[more]## But that’s exactly how she spent the summer of 2005, through a set of serendipitous events, including a conversation with her acupuncturist.
Sizemore, a teacher of Chinese at Community Middle School, led a group of West Windsor-Plainsboro students, including her two daughters, to Beijing for a camp designed to promote Chinese language skills and an understanding of traditional Chinese culture.
“The students took lessons in calligraphy, carved their own chops (traditional Chinese name seals), painted their own fans and kites, attended classes in traditional Chinese dance, singing and kung fu, Chinese yo-yo, and tried their hand at Chinese knot tying,” says Sizemore. “The students also learned facts, stories and legends of early Chinese history, and to recite poetry written in the Tang dynasty.”
Sizemore was born in Kentucky and graduated from high school in Kansas City, Missouri. Her father studied theology and the family spent a year living in Taiwan. She took courses at the Oriental Institute and spent a year at Oxford University studying English literature. She graduated from William Jewell College where she studied Chinese, English literature, and political science.
She graduated from Columbia University, where she received a master’s in international affairs. Her first job was for an import company that traded with China. After moving to West Windsor, with her husband, Dan Gerstenhaber, and children, she worked as a substitute teacher. But soon the school district discovered that she could teach Chinese. She pursued her teacher certification and soon had the job teaching Chinese at Community Middle School.
Her husband remained in West Windsor. “This was the only time we were separated for more than a few days, but we spoke every day,” says Sizemore. Gerstenhaber, known for his charity bike rides, was featured in the May 5 issue of the WW-P News for his role as chairman of the West Windsor BikeFest. This summer he rode in Lake Tahoe and Tucson, Arizona.
Meanwhile his wife and daughters were soaking up Chinese culture. “I learned so much about Chinese culture this summer, and my language skills really increased because I was speaking Chinese all the time!” says Brittany Gerstenhaber, Sizemore’s daughter and a junior at High School South. Her sister Stephanie, a graduate of High School South, Class of 2004, and a sophomore at Dickinson College, was also on the trip.
Although the students attended formal instruction in Mandarin Chinese, much of the students’ progress occurred in conversation with residents and bargaining with shopkeepers. “I knew if I wanted to get the best deals, I had to speak no English!” said Katrina Lee of West Windsor.
Other students from WW-P included Vicky Wang, a student at Grover Middle School, and Cher Lu, a freshman at High School South.
How did Sizemore hear about the program, which is housed at the Beijing Yurong International School? Through her acupuncturist.
