Breaking down stereotypes to build stronger schools

EAU CLAIRE — Just hours after a terrorist group’s attack on a satirical newspaper in Paris earlier this month, nine future teachers sat with a group of Somali community elders in Minneapolis discussing the relationship between Islam and terrorism.

Mai Lee Kha of Hatley was among the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire education majors participating in this Winterim program.

As the elders expressed their anger and frustration that their peaceful 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, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students began sharing 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,” Kha said. “They all broke down every stereotype and narrow-minded perception I unfortunately had of Somali Muslims, and that was thought-provoking and life-changing.”

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, places where new teachers find jobs.

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

The Somalis are dark-skinned immigrants who live in two languages and 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, the students’ new understanding and experience interacting with an immigrant population also will encourage greater understanding and acceptance of other minorities, deKoven said.

Kha said she knew little about the 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.

“I realized how much my Hmong ethnicity relates with the Somalis and their experience, and this makes me love this immersion experience even more,” Kha said. “Hmong people were refugees too, we highly value education too, we respect our elders and teachers too, we are extremely family-oriented too, and we take pride in our religion too. I could go on forever about the similarities I discovered.”

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.

“As a future teacher, it’s vital for me to be well-rounded in the many cultures and ethnicities I will be teaching so I can better serve them,” Kha said. “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.”

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.

As students complete the program, the hope is that they will share their knowledge and understanding with others, further expanding the impact the project has on the campus community and in school communities where students eventually go to teach.

For more information about the Somali immersion project, contact Dr. Aram deKoven at 715-836-2304 or dekovea@uwec.eduor Dr. Dandrielle Lewis at 715-836-4821 or lewisdc@uwec.edu.