Byars Meets World: Hsi Lai Temple
Pictured above, WHAP Club students at the Hsi Lai Temple.
October 13, 2018
Pictured Above, Kathryn Byars.
Once again, Kathryn Byars, an AP World History teacher here at ERHS, takes her students in WHAP Club on an adventure to visit new places that they wouldn’t experience elsewhere. This time, she accompanied her students on trip to the Hsi Lai Temple in Rowland Heights, California.
The Purpose.
Visiting the Hsi Lai Temple according to Dilenn Gamboa was, “To gain a better understanding of Buddhism beliefs and experience the Hsi Lai Temple.”
To sophomore Jasmine Concha, the purpose of visiting the temple was, “To experience what it was like and how we can relate what we are learning in class to what we see face to face, in person.”
Pictured above, Jasmine Concha.
In AP World History, the students are learning about, “Religions/philosophies such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and such. Visiting the Hsi Lai Temple expanded on information within the Mahayana branch and in general information of Buddhism.”
The Temple.
Pictured above, Hsi Lai Temple.
At the Hsi Lai Temple, Byars remarks, “I really enjoyed having the docent explain the art and statues around the temple to us. There is symbolism in every part of the temple. Even the stones on the ground of the courtyard were symbolic.”
Moreover, Byars added, “I also really loved hearing the students ask questions and connect it to what they learned in class.”
Sophomore, Jasmine Concha’s favorite part of the Hsi Lai Temple was, “The tour guide made everything make sense. He put everything into our view of things. He basically made everything relatable to what we know and our views.”
Pictured above, Dileen Gamboa.
The Consensus.
Both Gamboa and Concha were thrilled with excitement for the Hsi Lai Temple, and Concha simply puts the Byars Meets World, “I always look forward to trips with Mrs. Byars because she always takes us places that are both fun and relate back to what we are learning at the time.”
Byars’ next trip is still in the planning, however she revealed to The Roosevelt Review that she can take a group of students to the Maritime Museum in San Diego as they learn about the Age of Exploration within their classroom. Good luck and keep exploring Mustangs!
