[etni] Re: Ethiopians
- From: Cecile Hadassah Nadav <hadassahn@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:25:53 +0200
I completely agree with all that Sonya wrote. I teach girls at the high
school level. We've found that working slowly with lots of repetition,
spiraling, etc. is important, with lots of praise and encouragement. Try to
anticipate subjects that they may not be familiar with and give them the
background information necessary to understand a text ahead of time
(sometimes I feel like I'm teaching geography/history/science). Regardless
of how well they can manipulate their pelephones and use Facebook, many of
these kids are simply not in touch with the 21st century.I realized that
they don't like to admit that they don't know things, so I just explain
things in a matter of fact way, as if I explain it to all my students that
way, without asking them first if they know it or not. If it turns out that
they already know about the subject, so it makes them feel good, no harm
done. But I've stopped assuming that they know almost anything. We also try
to bring in texts about successful Ethiopian olim, or other subjects that
they can relate to. Be careful not to give them workpages etc. that look
babyish, or have a lower grade level written on them-- very insulting. We've
also noticed that they do not consider games to be serious learning, but if
the element of competition is added, they'll participate. I've had success
with musical activities (we had some fun translating Bob Marley songs). My
students seem to appreciate the fact that I'm also an olah, unlike most of
their other teachers, and that I understand some of the challenges that they
face (correcting my spelling mistakes in Hebrew makes them feel great!).
That being said, keep in mind that aliyah has been a traumatic experience
for many Ethiopians--they face discrimination, poverty, disintegration of
their family structure, separation of family members, as well as the usual
stresses of aliyah like learning Hebrew and adjusting to the culture.
Because of this they are generally very motivated to succeed, but they still
really need to know that you believe in them, and believe that they can be
much more than a cleaning woman or a garbage collector. They want to be
accepted and respected, not felt sorry for. I make them work hard. Make sure
they know the importance of knowing English for their future, because the
burden of learning a 3rd language (when they may not even be literate in
Amharic and not yet mastered Hebrew) can seem pointless to them. Also, in
Ethiopian culture, parents don't get involved much in what goes on in
school. The teacher is considered the authority, and is also expected to
handle any problems or issues. So don't expect a lot of help from the
homefront (the language barrier often prevents this anyway). While
challenging, I really enjoy teaching my Ethiopian students. They're like a
breath of fresh air.
Good luck!
Hadassah Nadav
Kfar Noar L'bnot "Ayelet Hashachar"
Yonatan, Ramat Hagolan
-----------------------------------------------
** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org
** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx **
** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **
-----------------------------------------------
Other related posts: