University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire program helps local students learn about Somalis

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Just hours after a terrorist group’s attack on a satirical newspaper in Paris last month, nine future teachers sat with a group of Somali community elders in Minneapolis discussing the relationship between Islam and terrorism.As the elders expressed their anger and frustration that their religion had again been used to justify violence and shared their belief that people who carry out these kinds of violent acts are not Muslims, UW-Eau Claire students shared their own reactions and impressions, including their surprise in discovering the many similarities among Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

These heartfelt conversations between students and Somali elders around religion and terrorism were possible thanks to a five-year-old UW-Eau Claire program that immerses education majors in Minneapolis' Somali community, helping future teachers expand their understanding of a population that is rapidly growing in Minnesota and in western Wisconsin communities.

"The Somali Muslims we got to know were so welcoming and kind to us," said Mai Lee Kha, an elementary education major from Hatley who was among the students who participated in the Winterim program. "They all broke down every stereotype and narrow-minded perception I unfortunately had of Somali Muslims.“

Kha's deeper understanding and new appreciation for the Somali people and their culture is exactly what the organizers of the Somali Experience envisioned when they created the program to help prepare future teachers to meet the needs of the diverse students they will find in their classrooms.

"This immersion experience offers unparalleled opportunities for pre-service teachers to broaden their worldviews and develop culturally relevant competencies that they will need to be effective and ethical teachers in today's public school system," said Dr. Aram deKoven, an associate professor of education studies who helps organize and lead the Somali Domestic Intercultural Immersion experience.

The Somali population in the Twin Cities is the largest Somali diaspora outside of Africa, numbering between 25,000 and 30,000. An increasing number of Somali immigrants also are settling into small communities in western Wisconsin, including places like New Richmond and Barron.

Many UW-Eau Claire students, like Kha, come from small communities with few opportunities to interact with diverse people, yet many Blugolds find teaching jobs in regions with growing Somali populations, deKoven said.

"The ethnic Somalis are distinctive because they embody the real-life complexities of diversity, including racial diversity, linguistic diversity and religious diversity," he said.

Learning about different cultures

Somalis are dark-skinned immigrants who learn English as a second language in school, deKoven said. In addition, many Somalis are Muslim, a religion that influences their daily life interactions and customs, including how genders interact in classrooms and how Somali students dress, he said.

Teachers in the region often know little about Somali culture, traditions, languages and lifestyles, deKoven said. As a result, it can be challenging for them to include Somalis productively into the classroom and school life, he said.

"Our program gives our preservice teachers and others at UW-Eau Claire a personal and professional edge in understanding the Somali culture and immigrant experiences," deKoven said. "With these competencies, students can more effectively serve as cultural bridges and help ease the transitions for Somali learners in their K-12 public classrooms, places of employment and public spaces."

Hopefully, students' new understanding and experience interacting with an immigrant population also will encourage greater understanding and acceptance of other minorities, deKoven said.

"We expect to see that a deeper understanding of one oppressed community of language learners will transfer into more welcoming and supportive environments for other oppressed and frequently misunderstood cultures," deKoven said, noting that program leaders currently are working to measure the long-term impact of the immersion experience.

Kha said she knew little about Somalis beyond the fact that they were refugees, yet she quickly felt a deep connection to the people she met partly because of her Hmong ethnicity and similarities between the two groups.

"I realized how much my Hmong ethnicity relates with the Somalis and their experience," Kha said.

Kha, who has a minor in teaching English as a second language, said better understanding the culture, traditions, lifestyle and religion of the Somalis will make her more aware of all diverse learners in her future classroom.

"By knowing different cultures and ethnicities, I'm able to widen my perception of the world I'm in and stand up for them when a stereotype or prejudice arises against them," she said.

Fully immersed

The Somali immersion experience is a comprehensive educational program that combines more than 24 hours of classroom-based instruction, a weeklong, full-day field placement in specially selected schools that serve primary Somali youth, and daily excursions in and around the Somali community in the Twin Cities.

In the weeks leading up to the school immersion, students hear lectures on Somali history, traditions, customs, migrations and conflicts.

Those discussions are led by Abdirizak Bihi, a prominent Somali community leader and activist; Steve Hill, professor of political science at UW-Eau Claire; and Paul Kaldjian, professor of geography and anthropology at the university.

Once the students have completed the classroom portion of the experience, they then spend five days in one of two Minneapolis schools that serve primarily Somali youth.

For Kha, a program highlight was interacting with four Somali women her age who also are pursuing education degrees.

In the five years the program has been offered, nearly 50 UW-Eau Claire students have participated, many of whom now teach in area schools, said deKoven, who established the program along with Kate Reynolds, professor of languages.Source: http://www.leadertelegram.com

http://www.somaliaonline.com/university-of-wisconsin-eau-claire-program-helps-local-students-learn-about-somalis/