Upward Bound class examines Iraq

By CAITLIN SULLIVAN/Staff

At least half the class raised their hands when Upward Bound teacher Adam Parks asked if anyone knew someone serving in Iraq.
Today Parks reads soldiers’ stories to the dozen or so high school students enrolled in a world culture class as part of the summer program held at Virginia Highlands Community College.
“She seems angry,” one student says of a female soldier’s story about when U.S. troops first arrived in Iraq without translators.
“They had to put themselves in the other people’s situation and that’s the key thing to do in any argument,” Parks said.
For the past month, students in the class have studied Arabic, Iraqi geography, the relationship between Islam and Christianity and Muslims living in America. They’ve also made a banner for the Veterans Affairs facility in Johnson City, Tenn., and held debates on the Iraq War.
“I’d like them to experience a culture outside of their own and how other people live,” Parks said of the class. “How (Iraq) relates to their lives with the Iraq War or religion.”
The world culture class is just one in the Upward Bound summer program. In other classes, students made guitars, took field trips and learned about science, technology, engineering and physics by making a model rollercoaster. Next week, the group is taking a weeklong field trip to Washington, D.C.
The Upward Bound program is available to qualified Holston and Patrick Henry High School students. At least two-thirds of Upward Bound students must be low income and first-generation prospective college students.
The mission behind Upward Bound is to help at-risk high school students with the transition to college. During the school year, the group meets once a week after school. The students receive $40 a month during the school year and $90 during the summer program for participating. Upward Bound is funded through a federal grant and works with about 50 local students throughout the year.
For more information about Upward Bound contact Adam Parks at (276) 739-2507 or Beth Page at (276) 739-2506.