The Heart of Why: Teacher Outreach in Michigan
The Title VI National Resource Centers for Middle Eastern and North African Studies and for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan (U-M) work closely each year to organize the MENA-SEA Teacher Program, a special outreach initiative for Michigan secondary schools. The program trains educators from across the state in deepening their understanding and appreciation of religious diversity in both Southeast Asia and in the Middle East and North Africa.
This article was first published in the April 2020 U.S. Department of Education IFLE Newsletter. Author Rima Hassouneh is the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
Program participants engage with scholars, artists, and community leaders while visiting cultural and religious sites and attending artistic performances. The 2019-2020 cohort includes: Greg Dykhouse (History, Black River Public School), Kiersten Gawronski (English, Saline High School), Colleen Kalisieski (English, All Saints Catholic School), Amy Perkins (A.P. World and A.P. U.S. History, Lakeshore High School), Gabrielle Popp (Special Education English, Beacon Day Treatment), and Alison Sullivan (World Geography and World History, Traverse City East Middle School).
The MENA-SEA Teacher Program organizes a number of sessions throughout the year for the same cohort of educators so that participants have sufficient time to explore a variety of issues in-depth and to form a strong professional network. One session held in October 2019 focused on religious and ethnic minorities in Southeast Asia and in the Middle East and North Africa. The day began with a conversation with Wai Wai Nu, a Rohingya activist for human rights and scholar resident at Columbia University. “Wai Wai discussed the horrors she faced while incarcerated,” recounted Gabrielle Popp. “She also discussed her studies, what she has done since fleeing Burma, her family, the use of social media as a tool for revolution, and her struggles to create a better Burma.” The teachers next worked with Joshua Cole, Professor of History at U-M, to learn about relations between Algerian Jews and indigenous Arabs under French colonialism. In the session’s final workshop, Darin Stockdill of U-M’s Center for Education Design, Evaluation, and Research led the teachers in a two-hour discussion of how to best integrate the workshop's content into their teaching. Kiersten Gawronski stated, “Using Darin’s expertise and advice, I know that I will be able to disseminate my learning in a way that can impact my students’ learning.”
Participant Alison Sullivan summed up the experience, stating, “This is the heart of why we all participate in this unique teacher training and outreach program—to enrich our teaching. Having the time to do this together is very beneficial.”
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