Living in another country is a rare and unique experience for anyone. Mrs. Cynthia Bradford’s love for traveling has impacted many students with her knowledge of Japanese culture, and as a supervisor for both Japan Club and Model United Nations (Model UN), she is constantly distributing her appreciation for other customs.
“Now that I teach modern world history, when I can, I bring Japan in when it’s appropriate with the curriculum and share my knowledge about that,” Bradford states.
Bradford dedicated a significant portion of her life to Japan because of the fondness she gained for the country.
She discloses, “I first went in high school. I did a magnet school program in Norwalk and we did a two week homestay trip to Japan and I fell in love with the country, and I was like, ‘I gotta come back.’”
She was able to pursue her interests, spending months at a time in Japan, and used her time to expand upon teaching skills as well as have new experiences she would go on to use in teaching, both in Japan and Connecticut.
“I studied abroad my junior year of college, I had been a science major and took organic chemistry, but then I switched to East Asian studies, which was kind of my passion,” she reveals.
Bradford allowed her passion to heavily influence her life choices, and encourages students to do the same.
Now, as a teacher at Foran, she continues to make use of her time in Asia for examples of what it means to live in different places around the world.
Part of this is frequently coming together with a group of students with whom Bradford can share her love of Japan. Japan Club consists of Foran students of varying ages and interests. However, one thing they all have in common is a distinct love for Japanese culture, which includes manga, anime, and more.
Bradford explains, “At Foran, we do Japan club to try and raise awareness of other cultures. But whenever I can, I try to share experiences of living and working in Japan or other places I’ve traveled to say: this is how the world is and there are different rules for different parts of the world.”
She tries to incorporate the experience she gained on her travels into her teachings, something not many other teachers possess.
“Just because the way we do something here, doesn’t mean it’s the way things are done everywhere, to just enrich a broader perspective on things,” Bradford states.
This year, Bradford is leading the Japan club in this year’s big project which includes the folding of 1000 paper cranes to honor a girl who died as a result of the bombing at Hiroshima. The plan is for Foran’s cranes to join those of other schools at a memorial in Japan once they have been finished.
In addition to running two clubs, Bradford also teaches four classes in total, including Modern World History, Global, Model UN, and Honors Humanities.
“She had a very interesting perspective especially on early units that had to do with feudalism, and she had a lot of cool items she brought back from Japan that she used to demonstrate Japanese practices,” junior Devon Hines reveals. She was a student in one of Bradford’s world history classes in her freshman year, and she held cherished memories from that class.
Hines continues, “Overall, I think in a world history class she was able to give a more Asian perspective, which is refreshing since a lot of classes are lacking that.”
Bradford’s unique experiences have brought a new perspective to her teachings, bringing a positive change to her community and the students that are fortunate to have her as their teacher.
She divulges, “I always try to encourage students, whether you are in high school or college, go travel, live abroad, study abroad…It’s a very different culture and you’re going to get exposed to various different kinds of people and that helps you understand your own culture and having an appreciation for cultural differences.”
