Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School
Encyclopedia
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
within Brien McMahon High School
Brien McMahon High School
Brien McMahon High School is a secondary school located in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. It is named after Brien McMahon, a former United States Senator from Norwalk. The school's mascot is a Senator with the school colors being red, white, and blue. The school's first senior class graduated in 1962...
, in Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
. Its primary purpose is to teach students the language, history, and literature of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Starting in the 2006-2007 school year, the Center added Arabic and Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
Studies to their curriculum. Each year students can participate in an exchange program from America to Japan, (to Kojo
Kojo
Kojo may refer to:* A variant for the Akan name for males born on Monday* The servant of Nandywog in Ruth Plumly Thompson's The Purple Prince of Oz* King Kojo, a novel by Ruth Plumly Thompson with illustrations by Marge...
and Bunkyo High Schools, and last year, their first ever trip to Kojimachi Gakuen) China, and Egypt. Each year, students from Japan and China come over for a home stay in America, and the coming year will hopefully be the first official visit from the Center's Egyptian sister school.
Students have a language class in the center. In their first year of studying a language, they are required to take a social studies course to go along with the country that they are studying. After that, they are no longer required to take a social studies course within the center, although they can if they choose to do so. Students must take World Literature in the Center, which counts as an English class. Various texts are studied in World Literature, from various time periods, places, and translated from many different languages. Students are required to take World Literature and a language class all four years in high school to be in the Center.
There are currently about 280 students, the largest number ever. The school continues to grow every year. In 2005, the Center opened their new wing, which is a part of the rebuilding of Brien McMahon High School.
The students in the Center, sometimes known as "Centerkids", are known for their eccentric dress and rather unhealthy obsession for everything Japanese. However, in the past several years, the stereotypical 'centerkid' has been slowly evolving. Rather than being known for their oddities, students are now known for their many center-specific activities, class pull-outs for in-school field trips, a comfortable atmosphere, decent teachers, and as a community of people where almost everyone can fit in somewhere. The students come from different socio-economic and ethnic background, and for the most part get along harmoniously. The Center, along with Brien McMahon High School
Brien McMahon High School
Brien McMahon High School is a secondary school located in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. It is named after Brien McMahon, a former United States Senator from Norwalk. The school's mascot is a Senator with the school colors being red, white, and blue. The school's first senior class graduated in 1962...
, have become well-known as some of the best places for GLBT high school students to attend to, but this aspect is currently waning.
The program was previously known as the Center For Japanese Studies Abroad (CJSA), and dealt solely with Japanese studies.