I attended an event organized by my community, Parkdale's Legal Services at the local library. The event focused on addressing Islamophobia in Canada, the province, and the community, as well as the impact of the travel ban on refugees and immigrants. The event could have used more Muslim voices on the panel. There was only … Continue reading Organizing Against Islamophobia & the US Travel Ban
Category: refugees
Planting a Seed – Our Project on the Refugee Crisis
Pernille’s class did a unit on the refugee crisis, and I was honoured to share my story with 3 of her classes. I love the process that she did to guide her students through the topic. By having students debate, discuss and ask questions about a topic that’s causing a great deal of discussion, outrage, and intolerance is so important to help students see and understand the urgency of the situation. Please have a read and I hope this Pernille’s lesson inspires you to start the conversation with your students.
I grew up in a home that had a newspaper on our table every morning. Laid out for us kids to see, we grabbed the comics first, then the Danish news. I was a teen when I started reading the international news. Being aware of the world was something that was expected of us, after all, Denmark is a small nation. We read the paper, we listened to the radio, we watched the news. Not always fully attuned but always aware of at least some of the bigger things happening in the world beyond our own.
Being a globally aware and invested teacher is something I have tried to live and breathe for many years now. After all, the Global Read Aloud was created with the idea of making the world not only smaller, but also more interconnected to create more empathy and kindness. My students have therefore in varying…
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Systems of Adversity: For the Love of Teaching – TEDx
I did a TEDx on May 14 at Kitchener, Waterloo. My talk discussed the need for each of us to find and share our voice. Through my own experiences moving through the Middle East and eventually settling in Canada, I attempt to show the power of finding and sharing your voice even when others may … Continue reading Systems of Adversity: For the Love of Teaching – TEDx
I was a refugee. I’m haunted by today’s images of child refugees
This post was originally published on PBSNewshour. I was born in Baghdad. My family was well off and we lived in a nice large home with a beautiful yard. We lived there with my three aunts, grandparents and cousins. The house was so large it fit us all. We even had a small house built … Continue reading I was a refugee. I’m haunted by today’s images of child refugees