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“WE’RE MORE THAN STEREOTYPES: EXPLORING MIDDLE EAST CULTURE AND FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH THE SEAHOLM/DEARBORN FORDSON STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM”
MSAN Conference April 27th and 28th.
Purpose of today’s session
Share the process and experience of the overall student exchange program.
Emphasize the importance of utilizing neighboring communities to establish cultural intelligence.
Expose the benefits of student voice and dialogue.
Interactive Session
Defining Cultural Competency
What is it? The National Education Association defines Cultural
Competence as the following:Cultural competence is having an awareness of one’s own
cultural identity and views about difference, and the ability to learn and build on the varying cultural and community norms of students and their families. It is the ability to understand the within-group differences that make each student unique, while celebrating the between-group variations that make our country a tapestry. This understanding informs and expands teaching practices in the culturally competent educator’s classroom.
What does it look like to us?In an attempt to move forward from the still popular
James Banks’ Theory of Multicultural Education, we looked toward utilizing experiential education and deliberative dialogue to expose students to the rich diversity available within a 20 mile radius
What are the first things that come to your mind when you see these images?
Think – Pair – Share
WHY? WHY? WHY? Dig Deep-try to get to the core of the matter.
What thoughts or emotions do you experience when viewing the following images?
Visual text analysis and beyond
What differences did you find?How do these images affect our students?
How can we use student engagement, interaction, and student voice to break down barriers and disrupt stereotypes?
What is FLEX?
Flex is short for The Flexible Scheduling Program. We are an honors , integrated interdisciplinary program combining English, Social Studies and the Humanities now celebrating 50 years as part of Seaholm High School.
The Cultural Literature/Cultural Studies cycle of Flex features a unit of study of the Middle East. The curriculum includes readings and assessments on Huston Smith’s World’s Religions, novels Midaq Alley and Kite Runner. In 2014 we prepared for our exchange with Dearborn Fordson High School students and staff through numerous seminars and readings on the 5 Pillars of Islam and current events.
Flex Curriculum / Anthropology - Centered on the Middle East
Just a little more information about Flex
www.theflexprogram.org
Seaholm/Fordson – What’s the difference? Seaholm High School in
Birmingham is located in one of the most affluent suburbs in Southeast Michigan. The demographic makeup of the building consists of 94% White, 3% Black, 2% Asian, and one 1% Hispanic.
Fordson High School, nestled in the east side of Dearborn, is an historically immigrant city, once home to the Germans, Polish, Irish, Italian communities; now, Dearborn is the epicenter of the Arabic community (Lebanese, Palestinian, Iraqi, Yemeni, Egyptian, and Syrian descent). The demographic makeup of the building consists of 90% Arab, 6% White, 2% Black, and 1% Hispanic and 1% Asian, with an ELL population of 56%.
Student Engagement
Arab American Museum Islamic Center of America
Dearborn Fordson High School
Ground work for Collaborative Engagement
Administration from both schools were supportive.
½ day of planning at Fordson High School with a five member committee to plan for both exchange dates – November 12 (at FHS)and December 10 (SHS).
Flex students prepared for the trip through chosen curriculum on the Middle East including reading and discussing the chapter on Islam in Huston Smith’s World’s Religions and excerpts from The Qur’an.
Student Engagement Activities
*Upon arrival at Fordson, Seaholm students were treated to an ice breaker activity in the auditorium (along with Fordson students) then given a chance to view a video produced by Fordson students about the importance of diversity at their school. Afterwards we engaged in a Gallery Walk activity where we wrote about existing stereotypes of Arabs and of Muslims and then had a large group dialogue session sharing what was written on the posters. Finally we were given a tour of the school by the students.
*Upon arrival at Seaholm, Fordson students gathered to say hello to Seaholm friends in a Flex classroom before heading to the auditorium to view a Ted Talk video about the dangers of a single narrative. Following the video Fordson students went to Flex seminars (small group setting) to have a conversation about the video and why diverse perspectives matter. After the seminar session Seaholm students gave Fordson students a tour of the building and then treated the Fordson students to a pizza lunch and another hour of class outside of the Flex periods.
Arab Youth Dialogue-The Flex Conference
Each year Flex students create, plan, and implement a day-long conference featuring key note speakers and break-out sessions focusing on a specific theme. This year, as a culminating event for our experiences with Fordson High School, we hosted the Arab Youth Dialogue and Fordson brought students to participate and host a panel. Below is a photograph of key note speaker Dr. Matthew Stiffler, University of Michigan.
Student Panel / Voice
How was your overall experience? What was your greatest takeaway? What were you most concerned or
nervous about prior to engaging in this experience?
Open Q & A
