A gumbo of cultures.Louisiana's rich and varied cultural traditions are often compared to its signature dish A signature dish is a recipe that identifies an individual chef. Ideally it should be unique and allow an informed gastronome to name the chef in a blind tasting. It can be thought of as the culinary equivalent of an artist finding their own style, or an author finding their own : a spicy gumbo blending everything from sausage and rice to shrimp and oysters. Acadian French Acadian French (le français acadien) is a variety or dialect of French spoken by francophone Acadians in the Canadian Maritime provinces, the Saint John River Valley in northern Maine, the Magdalen Islands and Havre-Saint-Pierre, along the St. (better known as "Cajuns"), Vietnamese, Creole Haitians, African-Americans, Native Americans This is a list of Native Americans (first nations and descendents) Cherokee
Anarchists
Kathleen Duplantier, a resource teacher at the Abita Springs Elementary School elementary school: see school. in Abita Springs, La., has made this cultural diversity the focus of a school-wide curriculum studying the wide-ranging folklore and traditions of local ethnic groups. Duplantier enlisted students in compiling a cultural encyclopedia, using the classroom, Macintosh computer to organize and store information on the groups they studied. Each grade explores a different local culture. Students' families and visiting artists are important sources of information, teaching students everything from how to cook Italian food to weaving Native American baskets to singing gospel music. Computers also help students integrate this learning into other parts of the curriculum such as reading and writing. Children write up their interviews with classroom visitors and make illustrated books of folktales using graphics and word processing word processing, use of a computer program or a dedicated hardware and software package to write, edit, format, and print a document. Text is most commonly entered using a keyboard similar to a typewriter's, although handwritten input (see pen-based computer) and software. All this information is then placed on discs that can be loaded onto computers in any classroom in the school. "We could do this curriculum without computers," says Duplantier, "but the computer supports and enhances what we are doing. It takes the curriculum beyond what it is and teaches children the processing and higher-level thinking skills they will need as adults." |
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