School video conference opens cultural exchange.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

Ninth-graders and teachers from Oak Hill School in Eugene rubbed elbows with the Grand Chamberlain to the King of Thailand last week - albeit via satellite.

They also had a chance to talk "face to face" with a dozen of their counterparts at the Wang Klaikangwon School in Thailand's Hua Hin province - known as The King's School, thanks to its royal sponsorship - about themselves, their school, their community and ways in which the two schools can work together to address critical global issues of interest to both countries.

The hourlong evening video conference - hailed as a success on both sides of the globe - kicked off an educational and cultural exchange between the two countries that may be unprecedented.

"This will be the first exchange of this kind with a Thai school," said Rick Lindholm, one of three directors of the Eugene-based U.S.-Thai Distance Learning Organization. His group, which helped orchestrate the partnership, coordinates exchanges of information and learning between Thailand and U.S. educational organizations and leaders.

It works with the similarly named Distance Learning Foundation in Thailand.

Oak Hill Headmaster Elliott Grey said the effort dovetails with the school's goal of carrying its mission of civic responsibility to the global community.

He expects it will lead to frequent communication, via e-mail and other means; research sharing and collaboration on academic projects; and, eventually, student exchanges.

"The world is getting smaller, both technologically and culturally, and it's essential that we get to know each other," he said. "We're trying to help our students understand that there are different cultures but they face similar problems."

Grey believes the video conference, held at Lane Community College, cemented both schools' commitment to the partnership.

"By the time we ended it we felt like we were friends," said Grey, who is in his second year at Oak Hill.

Students dressed up for the occasion and were coached ahead of time on courtesy and proper greetings.

For instance, hello in Thai is "sawaddeeka" if you're a girl, but "sawaddeekrub" if you're a boy.

"And in Thailand they hold their palms together and touch their foreheads," said Danny Baumgold, who, with Lindsey Clarke, led the discussion for Oak Hill's nine freshmen.

The grand chamberlain, whose job is similar to chief of staff, Lindholm explained, made welcoming remarks, but most of the hour was spent on talk between students and teachers at the two schools.

Clarke said she's keen to learn more about the art and culture of Thailand through the partnership, and would jump at the chance to live there as an exchange student, "especially if I could make friends now so I'd already know people when I went over."

After discussing a range of global issues, the students agreed on ocean pollution as a topic to zero in on.

The two schools will work together on a shared Web site and blog that should be up soon, humanities teacher Linda DeSpain said.

The King's School serves several hundred students, many of them socioeconomically disadvantaged, in a three-story building equipped throughout with cutting-edge technology. Classes are taped and broadcast on multiple channels around the country for children in rural areas.

Grey said the King of Thailand himself - the longest-reigning monarch in the world - was scheduled to be briefed on the video-conference today.

Oak Hill is an independent private school near LCC that serves 127 students in grades kindergarten through 12. The school connected with Lindholm's organization after the group helped enroll a Thai exchange student there in 2004. That student, Panupan Anegsuwankul, now attends the University of Oregon.

The organization also coordinated last year's visit by Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, who spent four days in Eugene as part of a celebration of her grandfather's 60th year on the throne.