Harding sixth graders study India through food, music and dance

CEDAR RAPIDS - Music plays as Sweta Sudhir dances around the classroom. She slaps her bare feet on the hard floor, causing the bells wrapped around her ankles to jingle.

“Doesn't that hurt?” several students asked.

“You get used to it after awhile,” Sweta said with a laugh.

Sixth grade students at Harding Middle School got a lesson in Indian culture Friday, celebrating India Day to culminate their study of the country.

The students study the ancient world in social studies, with geography embedded throughout the curriculum.

“I want them to really understand that what we learn in books is a real place in the world,” 6A social studies teacher Cindy Smith said.

What better way to do that than bring a piece of that world to the classroom?

“It's a lot better than just reading about it,” Gaige Wessling said. “We actually get to experience it.”

Divided into four large groups, the school's 6A students visited four stations. One featured dancing by Sweta and Abhinaya Gunasekar, an eighth grade student, while another allowed students to sample some authentic Indian food, including rice with vegetables and spicy chicken.

“I've never had Indian food before,” Brandon Wolfe said. “It's pretty good.”

Students also listened to popular Indian stories and discussed aspects of the country's culture, such as education.

“Our summer break is about four-and-a-half weeks,” Ritu Munjal said.

The students groaned in disbelief.

Friday was Harding's third India Day celebration. Prior to that, students celebrated their Asian studies with a China Day festivities.

Smith worked with several Harding families – some of them the parents of former students – to organize India Day.

“It's my job to bring the world to the students, so I try to include a modern connection with each country we study,” Smith said.

Radhika Gunasekar, Abhinaya's mom, said it's great that students have the chance to learn more about the Indian culture, especially in middle school.

“This is a time in their life when they are curious about the world around them,” she said. “This makes them interested in learning more.”

“It's fun to share it with them, to see their response to it,” Abhinaya said.

“I am very proud of my culture,” Sweta, a seventh grader, added.

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