Explore areas of cultural and artistic importance in urban and rural areas of Tunisia and in central Istanbul, Turkey to gain first-hand experience with the history and cultural norms of different Islamic nations and improve asset-focused instruction by forming a deeper understanding of how Islamic culture shapes the way students interact with the world.
I learned that openness to opportunity and acceptance of setbacks ensures profound experiences. Out of necessity, we somewhat reluctantly rode in a shared taxi for over two hours between Gabes and Djerba. It was busy, crowded, and we weren't sure what we were getting into. While stopped for a coffee break near the Libyan border we began talking with a fellow rider who was an art teacher. He answered many of our questions and shared about his life as a teacher, woodworker, and father in Djerba.
I learned that I'm resilient and competent, even in unfamiliar situations. I also found that having a thoughtful, reliable, intelligent partner to lean on can make experiences even more powerful. Chris has been a colleague and friend for many years; our trust in each other was strengthened during the fellowship. Professionally, I learned about how Islamic culture is expressed in different settings. I now have a better understanding of the ways my students' families navigate life in the USA.
I don't think that we realized the amount of positivity and goodwill that we would experience during our travels. Every time something went wrong it seems like it was followed by an unexpected act of kindness. An unpleasant, scary interaction with a stranger on the streets of Sousse ended up allowing us to form a positive bond with the caretakers of our lodging house. A sweaty, awful train delay gave us the chance to meet Abdelhak, who helped us continue our journey when we hit a dead end.
Many students feel there are no adults who can help them learn about their own culture; they also felt a decreased sense of belonging. By highlighting aspects of Islamic culture and things I learned on my fellowship, I hope to demonstrate to my students that I am a curious learner and that I can help them learn whatever it is that they want to know. I will be reading books purchased overseas, helping students build block models with Islamic design elements, and making patterned/tiled mosaics.
Our school usually hosts family connection nights to highlight the experiences of families from different cultural backgrounds at our school. Chris and I hope to organize a community event to focus on our Muslim families next April, sometime near the Eid holiday at the end of Ramadan. Our fellowship experience touring mosques and learning cultural norms in two different countries will hopefully demonstrate to families that their stories and histories are important to the teachers at school.
Our principal and the PTSA have asked us to give presentations on our fellowship. There are several teachers within and outside of my school who have asked me about the FFT process; "mentoring" other educators with FFT applications will be fun. From the family side, I've already connected with the father of one of my students due to the fellowship. During a parent meeting he said, "Oh, Turkey...good food there. But Afghani food is better! I will make some for you. Then you will taste and know!"
This year I was able to better elevate our Muslim students' and families' experiences to improve our classroom community's understanding of culture. Photos and information about our fellowship has been prominently displayed outside the library for the entire school year, allowing teachers and students to frequently talk with us about what we learned. We filmed an informational video with students about different ways to celebrate Ramadan and Eid and shared it with the school community.
Students were fascinated that we would travel to another country and learn about Islam. One of my Somali students, after looking at the display of our fellowship, asked me about the things I saw on our mosque tours. He checked out books about Islam and Ramadan from the library and read Arabic phrases to me. Three of the 6 students who participated in the video asked if they could come "teach me more during another lunchtime". My Muslim students felt they could freely speak about their culture.
I became more understanding of modifications I could make in my practice to help Muslim families and students feel more welcomed. I made phone calls outside of prayer times, more effectively and responsively led discussions about several different religions as holidays/celebrations came up during the year, and allowed myself to do a better job of letting students lead the way when talking about culture. I learned how to be more comfortable with uncertainty and how to engage family expertise.