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'The Story of Arab & Muslim Students is Often an Untold Story' is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column.

Three educators share ways that educators and schools can promote the inclusion of Arab and Muslim students, such as having schools accurately assess their numbers in the student population.

Here are some excerpts:

Related

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"'The Story of Arab & Muslim Students is Often an Untold Story'"

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'The Story of Arab & Muslim Students is Often an Untold Story' is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Three educators share ways that educators and schools can promote the inclusion of Arab and Muslim students, such as having schools accurately assess their numbers in the student population.

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If you were asked to sum up your classroom library or read aloud collection with five adjectives, what would you say? Would the word "diverse" make the list?

Our classroom library bookshelves and mentor texts should feel intentional, purposeful, and transforming; to that end, many educators and administrators are eager to infuse more culturally responsive, multicultural, and inclusive stories into the classroom. It can be overwhelming to figure out where to begin with this process, however. As Director of Curriculum & Literacy Strategy at Lee & Low Books, I step into schools and districts to advise on the key components of a culturally responsive book collection and action steps required to evaluate current collections for equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Whether you survey your collection in grade-level teams, with parent volunteers, or on your own, this blog post will share some of the best resources and strategies we at Lee & Low Books have seen over the past thirty years from schools and districts across the nation.

It is my hope your major takeaway with these resources is two-fold:

How to move forward in building the equitable, contemporary, intentional, purposeful, transformative book collection your students want and need

How NOT to feel overwhelmed

What is a High-Quality Diverse Text? What Features Might It Include?
Amazing definitions abound and I will share some of my current favorite guides here:
Why Should Diverse Texts Be Included in Literacy Instruction? What Are the Benefits to Students?

Read the first person account from Rethinking Schools magazine by Dr. Sandra Osorio: "'¿QUÉ ES DEPORTAR?' Teaching from students' lives" where she describes the changes in her classroom when she replaced her basal-reading program with diverse children's literature relevant to her students and families (Spanish edition here)

Listen to co-founder of #Disrupttexts Kim Parker's interview on Harvard EdCast: Putting Diverse Books into Practice in which she challenges educators to think about "what are the best books at the moment that actually speak to young people"

Review emerging evidence that shows increased GPA in all courses, attendance, and credit accumulation when black and Latino students are enrolled in high school courses featuring culturally relevant themes and texts

Explore the research that shows culturally relevant texts are "integral to learning" and exposure to culturally relevant texts leads to comprehension growth for African American elementary students

Dig into research on how a Mexican-American Studies curriculum provided academic gains to Latino students

Build your understanding of how multicultural, diverse books have also been shown to be critical to white students' learning

How to Get Started
Adding more culturally responsive and relevant books to your instruction does not have to be overwhelming, expensive, or time intensive. Be tactical with your time, wallet, and mental load by identifying the gaps or areas of growth in your collections: What is working? What is missing? Use these answers as your blueprint or road map to improving your collections or curriculum year over year. Ready to get started?
Step 1: Evaluate
Think about what will make the most immediate impact for your students in putting an action into place for equitable educational outcomes for your students and families. Are you evaluating a few books or a full curriculum? In order to know what you need, identify your gaps with these resources:

One Book: If you are analyzing a specific children's book for its cultural responsiveness and representation, here is the Teaching Diversity tool from Teaching Tolerance (PDF here)

Collection of Books: If you are analyzing your classroom library, guided reading bookroom, or scope & sequence's mentor texts, here is the Lee & Low Books one-page audit questionnaire (PDF here)

A Whole Curriculum: If you are analyzing your curriculum, whether it is district-made or purchased from a curriculum company, here is the Culturally Relevant Curriculum Scorecard designed and published by The Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and Transformation of Schools (NYU Metro Center) (PDF here, Spanish edition here). In addition, English Learner Success Forum works with district leaders and educators on evaluating instructional materials for English Language Learners and Re-Imagining Migration has a framework for representing immigration in curriculum and the classroom.

Step 2: Find and Obtain
Don't go at this alone! Just as we really shouldn't rely on search engines for medical advice, be wary of search results and picture boards to help you find the high-quality, diverse, rigorous books you need. It can be hard to find diverse books and there are nearly 4,000 children's books published in the United States every year. Seek out educator experts who are doing the heavy lifting in reviewing, analyzing, and comparing texts to meet your students' academic needs and interests.
Websites and Blogs Awards
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, has a comprehensive list of book awards and recommended reading lists that highlight outstanding literature and nonfiction for young people about diverse peoples.
Your Public Library
I can't say this enough-this is your closest, in-person expert in children's literature who won't charge you and knows your students and community intimately. Also, you can explore and use books without buying. Here is a map of all the public libraries, their branches, and bookmobiles in the United States-now you have every excuse to visit the library!

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What Makes a High-Quality Diverse Text and How to Get These Texts Into Your Classroom - Achieve the Core Aligned Materials

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If you were asked to sum up your classroom library or read aloud collection with five adjectives, what would you say? Would the word "diverse" make the list? Our classroom library bookshelves and mentor texts should feel intentional, purposeful, and transforming; to that end, many educators and administrators are eager to infuse more culturally responsive, ...

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Supporting Arab and Muslim Students in the Classroom

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Supporting Arab and Muslim Students in the Classroom

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Education Week - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What are important considerations that educators should keep in mind when teaching Arab and Muslim students?
Issues of race, culture, and ethnicity are critical for us educators to keep in the forefront of our minds.

And, when we think of who we're teaching, the needs of Arab and Muslim students are perhaps not considered as much as they should be...

Today, series guest-editor Dr. Sawsan Jaber "kicks off" a multipart series responding to this question. Dr. Jaber, along with contributors Abeer Shinnawi and Dr. Nina Shoman-Dajani, also were guests on You can also find a list of, and links to, my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show. previous shows here.
Stories from the Front Lines: Experiences of Arab and Muslim Students in American Classrooms-Introduction Dr. Sawsan Jaber, a global educator of 20 years in the U.S. and abroad, currently serves as a high school English teacher in Illinois. She is an Our Voice Academy board director, the founder of Education Unfiltered Consulting, and a founding member of the Arab American Education Network. Sawsan is a proud Palestinian American. You can find her on Twitter @SJEducate. Find Us: Twitter: @EducatorsArab Email: [email protected]:
According to recent research, there has been heightened anti-Muslim racism, also known as Islamophobia. This increase has resulted in many Arab American and Muslim American students in schools where they are not the majority feeling that they either want to mask their identity by assimilating or that they cannot learn because they are not socially accepted. Studies show that Arab American adolescents are victims of discrimination by their teachers and classmates. Focus groups with students have magnified Arab reports of their faith and culture being scrutinized and adversely viewed by students and teachers, resulting in feelings of defensiveness and demotivation.

The lack of understanding of students' intersectionality and cultural identities leads to their disempowerment, limiting their access to an equitable educational experience in comparison with their white peers (Jaber, 2019). Research has highlighted that this is the plight of many students of color across the United States; however, research has also highlighted that Arab and Muslim students are more of a target of systematic oppression and inequality due to the current political climate, which began its shift after 9/11.

These facts magnify the need for collaboration and communication among stakeholder groups. An increase in communication between educators and parents would bring to light the burden being placed on students by educator and parent stakeholder groups to advocate for themselves by themselves at all times with no systematic support. Therefore, the need for all stakeholder groups to humanize their perceptions of each other and work past their epistemologies in order to collaborate for the sake of building community by empowering the students becomes essential.

That is where the mission of the Arab American Education Network (AAEN) was born. Representation and official advocacy for Arab students has always been overlooked even among educators doing equity work. Arab students are not recognized demographically on the census, and most Arab students are products of countries that are not democratic; therefore, self-advocacy is not a natural characteristic promoted culturally. The mission of the network is to gather Arab teachers from across the United States so that we can collaborate to amplify the voices of Arab and Muslim students and raise awareness through research, professional development, advocacy, and training on understanding the cultural and linguistic pluralism and diversity that exists within these subgroups. We hope to provide teachers with the tools and knowledge they need to better serve Arab students.

This article will be the first in a series of several articles addressing the central question, "What are important considerations that educators should keep in mind when teaching Arab students?" My colleagues and fellow founding members of this network, Dr. Nina Shoman-Dajani, Abeer Shinnawi, Sarah Said, and I will each answer this question for the first component of this series (appearing over two posts) based on our unique educational lens with different focuses. Subsequent columns will focus on dismantling common misconceptions about Arabs and on proactive actions educators can take to create more inclusive environments for Arab students.

We hope that through these articles we shed light on decades of marginalization for Arab students, the need for educators to disrupt and agitate the cycles, curriculum, and thought that has been normalized in their everyday work to create more equitable and inclusive spaces for all students including Arab students, and to provide educators and educational organizations with a resource to continue learning about Arabs and Arab American students through this network.

Defying 'Single Story' Representations in English and Language Arts Classrooms
Attempts of English teachers to be culturally responsive as I progressed through my educational career often led to teachers handing me texts that were supposed to be representations of my own experiences, "mirrors" in educational jargon today. Yet, I was never handed a text that strayed away from the racist anti-Islamic and anti-Arab normalizations represented in the media. The implications of my teachers not seeing me as anything more than a tangible example of media representations caused me to feel like an "outsider" throughout my school journey. Sadly, my experiences were not isolated incidents.

Critical Race Theory thought and research have highlighted the detrimental impacts of the lack of student empowerment and inclusivity in the educational sector; they further marginalize groups of color instead of legitimizing their experiences and stories. Ultimately, students who perceive to be "othered" in school share only what they need to survive their context. That translates to Arab and Muslim students sharing only what they discern to be similar and relative to the culture of their peers withdrawing when things like pronouncing their name correctly draws more attention to their pluralistic identities (Jaber, 2019). Without educators explicitly working to " perpetuate and foster-to sustain linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of the democratic project of schooling and as a needed response to demographic and social change," the price is the loss of democracy and of cultural identity for Arab American students.

Texts like The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni and God Dies by the Nile by Nawal Saadawi are often hailed as examples of great texts to include if you are culturally responsive and have Arab and Muslim students in class. Although these texts may represent the lived experiences of the authors, they do not differentiate between the Arabic culture of the specific region versus the role of the religion. These omissions lead readers who do not know the difference between Arab and Muslim to further blur those lines and often view students through a stereotypical lens. Consequently, attempts to provide Arab students with mirrors to view themselves in the literature and other students with windows to learn about Arab and Muslim peers result in magnfying stereotypes, misconceptions, and feelings of alienation for the same students the texts were intended to empower.

As a parent of children with exposure to these texts in school, I found it challenging to navigate these texts with my children, empowering them to hold critical conversations with misinformed teachers who were perpetuating Arab and Muslim stereotypes. Students do not want the responsibility of teaching teachers and peers their own truths. Arab and Muslim adolescents developmentally just want to "belong" and feel included (Jaber, 2019). So, what happens to these students when this is the only representation?

Arab and Muslim students report sharing only parts of their identities that were considered the norm and were socially acceptable in school contexts (Jaber, 2019). This included their dress, language, lunch choices, holidays they celebrate, who they interact with, and general demeanor at home-a central "norm" that others need to be brought into implying an outside appearance of inclusiveness that does not really exist. Although these characteristics would give the impression of harmony with peers and the environment, it does not actually exist since students are not able to share their cultural identities.

Students attribute their choice to "hold back" to two main reasons: They feel "other" school community members would not understand and they avoid the burden of constantly explaining and defending their identities. Both allude to a lack of safety and order required for students to gain the sense of belonging and inclusion they inherently yearn for indicated by their willingness to let go of integral aspects of their identity, disadvantaging them and limiting their gains.

Thanks to Dr. Jaber for her contribution!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It's titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And if you missed any of the highlights from the first eight years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. The list doesn't include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the "answers" category found in the sidebar. This Year's Most Popular Q&A Posts Race & Racism in Schools School Closures & the Coronavirus Crisis Classroom-Management Advice Best Ways to Begin the School Year Best Ways to End the School Year Student Motivation & Social-Emotional Learning Implementing the Common Core Facing Gender Challenges in Education Teaching Social Studies. Cooperative & Collaborative Learning Using Tech in the Classroom Student Voices Parent Engagment In Schools Teaching English-Language Learners Reading Instruction Writing Instruction Education Policy Issues Assessment Differentiating Instruction Math Instruction Science Instruction Advice for New Teachers Author Interviews Entering the Teaching Profession The Inclusive Classroom Learning & the Brain Administrator Leadership Teacher Leadership Relationships in Schools Professional Development Instructional Strategies Best of Classroom Q&A Professional Collaboration Classroom Organization Mistakes in Education Project-Based Learning I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column

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Supporting Arab & Muslim Students in the Classroom

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The new question-of-the-week is: What are important considerations that educators should keep in mind when teaching Arab and Muslim students? Issues of race, culture, and ethnicity are critical for us educators to keep in the forefront of our minds.

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Sitti's Secrets (Aladdin Picture Books) [Nye, Naomi Shihab, Carpenter, Nancy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Sitti's Secrets (Aladdin Picture Books)

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Children, Arab Heritage, and Anti-Bias Education

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Children, Arab Heritage, and Anti-Bias Education

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What messages are you hearing from the mainstream media about the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt? What about the fighting in Libya or the government crackdowns in Syria and Bahrain? If the messages and images of Arabs and their countries are confusing to you, imagine what children are picking up from them. These new messages occur in a social environment full of existing stereotypes, misinformation, and incidents of discrimination and hatred directed at Americans of Arab descent. For example, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) reports that in 2011, the number of discrimination complaints handled by the ADC legal department is the highest since 2003-even more than after 9/11/2001 (2010 ADC Legal Report: Legal Advocacy and Policy Review).

If you work with Arab American children, you will want to assess how your learning environment supports their positive identity and home culture. As anti-bias educator Merrie Najimy relates:

Growing up Arab American in the '70s and '80s-not quite white, Semitic nose and lips, black hair galore-I felt like I lived in two worlds, "Arab" and "American"-the former not to be shared in the latter, because of concerns about being different from the dominant culture. My Arabic world was my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and first cousins all living nearby, regular Sunday dinners at Sitto's (Grandmother's) house, her friends chatting in Arabic, the elders smoking fruit tobacco on the Argeelee (water pipe). Women walking hand in hand and men arm in arm with no homophobic stigma attached. My cousins picking up the tabla (drum) and making powerful music, the beauty of the men dancing, and so much more. I had many friends, yet felt like an "other." I made faces at Dick and Jane in the basal reader and scribbled in the book because their lives were nothing like my life. They represented a life that I was supposed to emulate. When kids found out I was Lebanese, they often asked, "What's that?" which made me feel like my ethnicity was a disease. I now realize that the awkwardness I felt was due to the absence of a multicultural education-i.e., an anti-bias framework. (From Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards, 2010).

Now is a crucial time to assess how you are teaching children about children of Arab heritage.

Teacher Preparation Guidelines

1.) Be aware of prevailing societal stereotypes. Young children are often quite aware of widespread stereotypes and the prejudiced attitudes of adults. In addition, they tend to generalize what they see and hear, applying stereotypical images or negative comments about Arabs living abroad to Americans of Arab descent.

Common stereotypes include "All Arabs have the same culture" or "Arabs look the same."

A predominant and possibly harmful stereotype from mass media is that Arabs are scary and they hurt other people.

People often erroneously think that all Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are Arabs.

To see more stereotypes with full descriptions, go to this companion page: Countering Arab Stereotypes.

2.) Learn about how your particular group of children thinks. Use this data to plan for long-term materials and activities to correct and expand children's ideas and foster unbiased interactions.

PREPARATION STRATEGY 1

Make time to listen and observe your children identifying themselves and expressing their feelings about their own and other's race and ethnicity. As children play, talk, draw, and paint pictures they often reveal how they see themselves. They also indirectly express their feelings though their choices of playmates, toys, images, and books. Watch for children's playmates, and for teasing about Arab heritage and/or their family's way of life. Also, note any rejection based on biases directed toward them.

PREPARATION STRATEGY 2

Generate conversations with your children about their ideas and feelings about people of Arab heritage. Using images and stories, ask them who they see and who do they think people are. Where do they think people live, have a family, go to school, and work. Listen for misconceptions and statements that make others uncomfortable. As a rule, when you are collecting information, do not intervene. You want children to feel comfortable to express their true views, not what they think you want to hear or see. However, if you think something will especially hurt a child of Arab heritage, you can say something like "Not everything being said is true or fair. Soon we will be learning about what is really true and fair." Merrie Najimy relates that when she intentionally plans a lesson that will expose negative images and hurtful stereotypes about Arab people, she talks to her Arab heritage students in advance. She explains what might be raised in conversation. She affirms their identities, makes clear that these images are not true or fair, and explains that the lessons are to help everyone to recognize and stop misinformation.

3. Examine your own ideas and feelings.

Children are not the only ones vulnerable to misinformation and negative messages about people of Arab heritage; most of the people living in the United States have been surrounded by considerable anti-Arab prejudice from mainstream media for many years. Among the most serious myths affecting adults is that all Arab men are extremist and/or terrorists, out to get Americans; Islam is responsible for Arab terrorism; and all Arab women are much more oppressed than women from other ethnic or religious groups. None of these are true. As in all groups, a small minority of individuals may fit one or more of these characterizations, but not the vast majority. Honestly uncovering stereotypes, misinformation, and learned prejudices will enable you to eliminate their insidious influence on your thinking, attitudes, and behaviors.

4. Design appropriate activities to counter misinformation and help children resist prejudice.

Keep in mind that "Ethnic stereotypes are especially harmful in the absence of positive ethnic images" (Wingfield & Karaman, Beyond Heroes and Holidays, p.138).

5. Make sure that children of Arab heritage in your program are visible in your learning materials, your curriculum supports their home culture (including being Muslim if that is the religion of their family), and fosters bilingualism if their home language is other than English.

STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORTING HOME CULTURE

As with learning experiences about any group of people, do not expect children of Arab heritage to be their ethnic group's expert or spokesperson. Instead, create a safe environment for that child to volunteer personal stories of culture or identity if she or he chooses. One popular strategy is for children to share their family's holidays. This strengthens the child's positive self-identity and classmates' awareness of and comfort with diversity. In this example, from a private college kindergarten, Adam, a Muslim, Arab American child, initiated the following activities. (Be aware that the activities are not about teaching children what religious beliefs to practice-rather it is child sharing his family experiences.)

In the weeks before Christmas, the other 4- and 5-year-olds in Adam's class begin talking about Santa Claus, including asking each other what Santa Claus was going to bring them. Adam keeps calmly saying: "I don't believe in Santa Claus. I don't celebrate Christmas. I'm Muslim." His classmates are puzzled. That night Adam tells his mother: "The children at my school do not know about Muslims. My teachers celebrate Christmas, so let's get them Christmas presents. I celebrate Eid ul-Fitr so let's get them Eid [pronounced "eed"] presents, too."

Adam's mother related this conversation to his teachers, who invited Adam to tell his classmates about what his family does for Eid, and to share Eid food and a game with them. Adam then decided to ask his Imam and his mother if he could bring his class to his mosque. The teacher and Adam's mother arranged for a visit. Adam was thrilled that his classmates visited his mosque, and it was a lovely experience for everyone. Subsequently, other children also decided to tell their classmates about their families' religious practices-and an ongoing theme for the curriculum emerges.

Assemble and create accurate teaching materials. This task will require you to search beyond the traditional sources and to also make your own materials-especially for young children. There are a few that focus on Arabs in other countries; however, young children need to know that there are many Americans of Arab heritage and that they live in a variety of ways. Ask Arabs from your community if they will help you create books, photos to use for learning games, etc. (See Anti-Bias Education, chapter 4, for more ideas.)

Concepts for Children

Concept 1: Arab American families live in a variety of ways.
Arab American families live in a variety of ways. They are both alike and different from your own families. (With older children-upper elementary, middle, high school-you can also expand to include Arab families in other counties.)
Always connect learning activities about different kinds of families to the similarities and differences among your children's families. Affirm all the ways of being a family and help the children make the connection between their experiences and those of the children in the stories about Arab/Arab Americans. In Merrie's case, she was able to use her story about growing up Arab American, the year she lived in Lebanon as a child, and her visit to Lebanon and Palestine as an adult. If you cannot do this, you may know people of Arab heritage who can tell you or your students directly about their families.

Two children's books to use are Everybody Bakes Bread by Norah Dooley and Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye. Dooley's book depicts real people who live in the author's neighborhood, including a Lebanese family who own a restaurant, and Nye's depicts an Arab American child who visits her grandmother in Palestine. Talk with your children about how Sitti's experiences are like theirs (e.g., stories about visiting their grandmothers; grandmothers who have fruit trees in their gardens), as well as the differences, like where the grandmothers live.

Concept 2: Arab American people work and contribute in many ways.
Arab American people work and contribute in many ways. (With older children, expand to include the work and contributions of Arabs in other countries.)
You might be able to assemble a wall chart of such images, with the title of "Arab American people work in many ways." Many anti-bias educators use the technique of storytelling with dolls that have the identity and heritage of the group under discussion (e.g., Miriam's mother is a doctor and works in a hospital; her father is an actor on television). Called "persona dolls," this technique allows you to explore several concepts with children (families, work, where people live, and stereotyping). It has shown itself quite effective to build knowledge, emotional connections, and critical thinking. (See Anti-Bias Education for ideas and further resources.)

Concept 3: Untrue/unfair stereotypes about people of Arab heritage.

Be alert for unfair practices that directly affect their lives. The children or you may identify the problem.

With preschool/kindergarten-age children:

The most useful strategy is to provide learning experiences that counter the information and stereotypes children hold about people of Arab heritage. To do this, you must first find out how they think. Then, provide photos, books, and, if possible, direct experiences that contradict erroneous ideas and offer alternative information. Help the children compare and contrast inaccurate and accurate images and ideas (e.g., Arab people live in deserts vs. an assortment of true images of people living in cities, coastal plans).
With primary school-age children:
If you have worked with the children on the previous concepts, they are ready for critical analyses, which is identifying untrue and unfair images and messages. Focus on critiquing images and information in the media-cartoons, news clippings, photographs, videos-that contradicts their new information. Critiquing the Disney movie Aladdin is one example where anti-bias work becomes visible.

Although most children do not realize the movie is about Arabs, they can often name its many negative images: "People chasing other people with knives"; "The tall guy is creepy, with red eyes, and snarls"; "The bad guys have darker skin, the good guys have lighter." One student's comment illustrates how insidious racism can be in the media: She explained that in the movie, "the darker skinned people are the Arabs, and they are trying to kill the lighter skinned people, who are not Arab." However, she did not recognize Aladdin and Jasmine, who are light-skinned, as Arab. It was a terrific opportunity to explore the "light/good, dark/bad" stereotype. The children were able to connect the discussion to how dark-skinned African American characters are often the "bad guys" and people from Africa get portrayed as "savages."

Concept 4: Building empathy with ordinary people in countries of conflict.
(For primary and older school children) Build understanding and empathy for the people living in countries where U.S. troops engage in armed conflict with particular political factions or governments. Primary graders (and beyond) are old enough to hear about stories of conflict, presented in an age-appropriate, sensitive context that focuses on the lives and actions of ordinary people who are caught up in the conflicts.
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq (J. Winter) puts a human face on a people in the midst of war and shows that even then, individuals can work together for good in their community. This book tells the story of Alia Muhammad Baker, chief librarian of Basra's Central Library. Set in 2003, just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Alia is worried about protecting the library's 30,000 books. Because the government refuses to help, she recruits friends to help her move the books into a nearby restaurant. The library is bombed nine days later.

One student asks: "Why go through the risk of trying to save the books?" I let them discuss and debate it as a group: "She wants to save them to remember the people"; "Books give info on how to stop troubles"; "Books give you relief so you can feel happier." Although it may be beyond school-age children's developmental level to understand that books transmit history, culture, and identity to future generations, they can explain why books are important to them. They also can understand the bravery and resourcefulness of the librarian of Basra.
We are interested to hear about more strategies being used in classrooms. Share your ideas for teaching about Arabs and Arab Americans.

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Children, Arab Heritage, and Anti-Bias Education - Social Justice Books

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By Louise Derman-Sparks with Merrie Najimy What messages are you hearing from the mainstream media about the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt? What about the fighting in Libya or the government crackdowns in Syria and Bahrain? If the messages and images of Arabs and their countries are confusing to you, imagine what children are picking [...]

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Column: How teachers can support students during Ramadan

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If students have the right accommodations and support from teachers and their peers during Ramadan, it can turn a challenging month into the most rewarding.

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*Notable Social Studies Trade Book For Young People 2016, a cooperative Project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children's Book Council* *Featured Book of the Month, Anti-Defamation League*
*American Library Association Notable Book for Children 2016*

* Skipping Stones Honor 2016*

*International Literacy Association Choices Reading List*

Lailah is in a new school in a new country, thousands of miles from her old home, and missing her old friends. When Ramadan begins, she is excited that she is finally old enough to participate in the fasting but worried that her classmates won't understand why she doesn't join them in the lunchroom.

Lailah solves her problem with help from the school librarian and her teacher and in doing so learns that she can make new friends who respect her beliefs. This gentle, moving story from first-time author Reem Faruqi comes to life in Lea Lyon's vibrant illustrations. Lyon uses decorative arabesque borders on intermittent spreads to contrast the ordered patterns of Islamic observances with the unbounded rhythms of American school days.

Fountas & Pinnell Level N

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Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story [Faruqi, Reem, Lyon, Lea] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story

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Appreciation of other cultures requires nurturing our sense of tolerance and acceptance. The more we understand and appreciate each other, the more we strengthen the social fabric of our city and our schools.

Eid al-Fitr translates to the "Festival of Breaking the Fast" and is celebrated starting on the first day of Shawwal following the month of Ramadan.

Eid al-Adha is the second of two major holidays observed by Muslims across the world. Celebrated on the tenth month of Dhu al-Hijja, Eid al-Adha coincides with the last day of Hajj.

This guide provides opportunities to recognize and celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha with students. Lesson ideas for all grade levels are included.

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Learning About Eid al-Fitr & Eid al-Adha | WeTeachNYC

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Appreciation of other cultures requires nurturing our sense of tolerance and acceptance. The more we understand and appreciate each other, the more we strengthen the social fabric of our city and our schools. Eid al-Fitr translates to the "Festival of Breaking the Fast" and is celebrated starting on the first day of Shawwal following the month of Ramadan.

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Register yourself to vote

We believe that everyone, no matter their race or origins,
deserves to be treated fairly, equally, and with dignity.

Stories Of How We Changed
Their Lives

it is the best organization that deals with the arab American problems ,,, I am proud of every person that contributes to this very well established oragnizationn

Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved By ADC
Developed & Maintained by Digital Revamp

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Register yourself to vote We believe that everyone, no matter their race or origins, deserves to be treated fairly, equally, and with dignity. it is the best organization that deals with the arab American problems ,,, I am proud of every person that contributes to this very well established oragnizationn Copyright © 2019.

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Young children are very aware of the prejudiced attitudes of the adults in their family and community life. They also are much more aware of widespread stereotypes than adults often realize. Be aware of prevailing stereotypes that young children tend to believe, such as the following:

1. All Arabs have the same culture.

This misguided idea permeates adult thinking as well as the thinking of children. However, the term "Arab" refers to the ethnicity of people who live in a large geographic area, comprising many countries, in the Middle East and parts of Northern Africa. A wide range of cultures, dress, and occupations make up this far-flung ethnicity. Furthermore, the culture of Arab Americans reflects a wide diversity of individuals who are more or less embedded in their heritage group's culture.

2. All Arabs look the same.

This untrue idea often takes the form of all men looking like "sheiks," or like the men we see fighting on our TV screens. The women wear traditional clothing (the hijab) or look like a belly dancer (e.g., the princess in the Arabian Nights). And, as a first grader explained to her teacher, in the movie Aladdin, the darker-skinned people are the Arabs while Aladdin and Jasmine, who are light-skinned, are not. Many of the other children agreed with her. It is also important to emphasize that most Arab Americans "look like" other Americans in dress, although some may wear items of traditional clothing.

3. All Arabs live in the desert.

In reality, Arab people live in a wide range of topographical locations-fertile coastal regions, river valleys, and mountainous areas-as well as in desert regions. The Arab world has always been an urban civilization. Most Arabs live in cities, towns, and villages. Bedouins make up about 2 percent of the population in the Arab world. Arab Americans live throughout the United States.

4. All women stay at home.

Arabs and Arab Americans-men and women-engage in a wide range of occupations similar to those of people with other racial/ethnic backgrounds. They are doctors, teachers, truck drivers, computer programmers, farmers, oil workers, artists, musicians, and elected government officials.

5. Arabs hurt people and are scary.

This is the predominant image most children see-especially on television. Stories about the various wars in the Middle East get widespread coverage. The lives of the majority of Arabs do not, nor do the lives of Arab Americans get any attention. This is an especially dangerous stereotype for young children to believe; if it goes un-encountered it becomes the basis for more full-blown dislike, fear, and prejudice.

6. All Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are Arab.

This erroneous thinking is at the root of much prejudice and discrimination directed at people of Arab heritage. Not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are of Arab heritage. People who are "Muslims" are members of the religion of Islam, practice different forms of Islam, and exist in almost every country in the world. Interestingly, the majority of Arab Americans are Christian.

Design appropriate activities to counter misinformation and help children resist prejudice. Keep in mind that "Ethnic stereotypes are especially harmful in the absence of positive ethnic images" (Wingfield & Karaman, Beyond Heroes and Holidays, p.138). Be sure to do a combination of developmentally appropriate activities that promote positive images and accurate information about Americans of Arab heritage, and about Arabs in other countries.
The information on this page has been adapted from the important work of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Please visit their website to learn more.

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Countering Arab Stereotypes - Social Justice Books

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Young children are very aware of the prejudiced attitudes of the adults in their family and community life. They also are much more aware of widespread stereotypes than adults often realize. Be aware of prevailing stereotypes that young children tend to believe, such as the following: 1. All Arabs have the same culture.

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juvenile fiction / social themes / emotions & feelings

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The Three Lucys [Charara, Hayan, Kahn, Sara] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Three Lucys

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Fun and Culturally Responsive Seasonal Ideas

"It's the most wonderful time of the year." You've likely heard this before - in song or otherwise - but what does it mean to you? For some, it will trigger sugarplum-coated childhood Christmas memories; for others, it will trigger a feeling of exclusion. When it comes to the December holidays, many find it hard not to get completely wrapped up and look for ways to integrate holiday-themes into their curriculum and their activities. While in fact, celebrating Christmas in schools is a form of implicit bias and is problematic based on the Civil Rights Law. You may be asking how and why? Below we'll tackle three forms of implicit bias:

Invisibility

For those groups who do not celebrate Christmas like children and families who are Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, etc., it can create a feeling of invisibility and can, in turn, serve as a difficult time for those who are underrepresented.

Selectivity

By celebrating only one holiday that aligns with the dominant group, it perpetuates bias by representing an imbalance account. Selectivity restricts the knowledge of students regarding the varied perspectives that may apply to a range of holiday celebrations.

Unreality

Many holiday celebrations present an unrealistic portrayal of our contemporary experiences. For example, Christmas celebrations often focus on the commercial aspect by asking "What do you want for Christmas?", when in reality 1 out of 5 children in the US live in poverty. By discussing Santa and what gifts children may get, it could create a feeling of disappointment when expectations aren't met.

By recognizing implicit bias, we can learn to honor the cultures around us while celebrating personal time-honored traditions.

In education, we aim to focus on universally designed, culturally relevant practices, that can help to create inclusive and honorable experiences for all this season, regardless of culture or background. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that encourages educators to design learning experiences with many options and choices so all participants have different experiences while working toward the same goal. Culturally relevant practices help us better make connections to our own and each other's lives. Together, these two frameworks provide a powerful recipe to improve the outcomes for all involved.

While we don't want to bah-humbug all over your holiday spirit, there are several ways to embrace all kids, families, and colleagues this season - without making anyone feel left out in the cold. Below are some ideas on how you and those around you can celebrate this time of year.

Culturally Responsive Seasonal Activities

Bake Off - Baking is something that is universally loved and mixes in so many traditions across all cultures. There are many ways to put a modern (and safe) twist on this favorite holiday tradition. Here are some ideas below that you can do with your class or try with your friends and family!

Recipe Exchange

Ask each of your students to collect their favorite dessert recipe. For accessibility purposes, encourage learners to identify local stores where ingredients can be purchased.

Collect all of the recipes and create a recipe book and distribute it to everyone in the class!

Challenge everyone to make a recipe and plan a time where everyone can bake together via video so that each student can share their favorite recipe (and their memories) and has the opportunity to experience other families' recipes and stories that come along with them.

Another take on this is a "cookie share". Have everyone bake their favorite recipes (if you are remote) and/or share about their favorite dessert and what it means to their family traditions and memories.

Embrace the Winter Theme! One thing that we all experience? Winter. In some areas of the world, that oftentimes comes with shoveling and hunkering down on below-freezing days, in others, the weather may be warmer but the thought of the winter season triggers fond memories (i.e, hot cocoa!) and opportunities to create more (I mean, 68 degrees Fahrenheit is cooler in places like Florida!).

Take on the great outdoors with friends and colleagues with seasonally themed activities such as sledding, skiing, and hiking.

Have a theme day where everyone can wear their favorite seasonal shirt, sweater, socks, or hat!

Host a movie-watching party on Netflix or start a book club. Stream a movie live for everyone to chat and watch together or read independently and set up a time to discuss the book over Zoom. You could set up weekly optional meets, and each time someone else gets to choose the movie/book so that everyone can take turns sharing their interests and cultures, and dive into the cultures of others (this is a great guide for how to set this up on Netflix if you haven't tried it before! Plenty of other services now offer this as well such as Prime or through Teleparty you can stream Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and Hulu).

Family Tradition Activities. Being culturally responsive doesn't mean stifling the things you love about your cultural traditions; it is about seeing other's cultural differences as assets instead of deficits - things to be celebrated rather than squandered. Furthermore, it is an opportunity to examine our personal viewpoints and determine if our current actions are creating barriers to others having a sense of belonging and inclusive experience and if so - examining and acting on how we can bridge the gap. Below are a few ways to do this:

Have kids create a representation of their favorite traditions for this time of year. This can be done in a multitude of ways such as telling, writing, or recording a personal story, making a video, building a collage, or drawing a picture to name a few. It is a great opportunity to connect with your students by creating one and sharing yours too!

As a bonus - you can then try out different traditions as a way to share your traditions while exploring someone else's aka Windows & Mirrors. One day you could play spin the dreidel, while another day craft a class unity cup. Students get to drive the process and honor their own practices while sharing them with others!

No matter how you decide to celebrate this time of year, it is important to embrace variability and help to eliminate barriers that may hinder experiences for our fellow students and families. By providing options and opportunities for our kiddos to take the experience into their own hands, we are helping to build expert learners and happy, fulfilled kids!

Deepen your understanding of Culturally Responsive Practices. Explore our professional development options including our flex-paced course Equity By Design.

How to Navigate the Holidays, Equitably

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How to Navigate the Holidays, Equitably - Novak Educational Consulting

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"It's the most wonderful time of the year." You've likely heard this before - in song or otherwise - but what does it mean to you? For some, it will trigger sugarplum-coated childhood Christmas memories; for others, it will trigger a feeling of exclusion.