Produced by...

These four modules were produced in CounPsy620: Community Based Learning with Immigrants and Refugees, a course taught by Professor Lynet Uttal at the University of Wisconsin, Madison during the Spring of 2018. She worked with two of her students, Almira Khan and Cecilia Kyalo, to produce these short modules.

This project was in response to Principal Kathleen Costello and Social Worker Elizabeth Sorge's request for online trainings that would be short and provide a springboard for discussions during staff meetings.

 

For more information, please contact Lynet Uttal at luttal@wisc.edu.

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Final Report

4/25/18

Almira Khan and Cecilia Kyalo

Under the supervision of Professor Lynet Uttal, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

UW Team Members contact information:

Lynet Uttal, 608-720-9497, luttal@wisc.edu

Almira Khan: 630-641-9077, akhan42@wisc.edu

Cecilia kyalo: 662-638-9252, kyalo@wisc.edu

 

Community Partner contact information:

Kathleen Costello, principal of Thoreau Elementary School, 3870 Nakoma Rd, Madison, WI 53711, (608) 204-6940. kjcostello@madison.k12.wi.us

Elizabeth Sorge, social worker at Thoreau Elementary School, 3870 Nakoma Rd, Madison, WI 53711, (608) 204-6940. esorge@madison.k12.wi.usHassan Nafid, Bilingual Resource Specialist (Arabic Speaking), Thoreau Elementary School, 3870 Nakoma Rd, Madison, WI 53711, nahassan@madison.k12.wi.us

Hassan Nafid, bilingual resource specialist at Thoreau Elementary School, 3870 Nakoma Rd, Madison, WI 53711, (608) 204-6940. nahassan@madison.k12.wi.us

Original Request

The original request was to follow up their “cultural competency” session from Spring 2017 with some more concrete ways to have inclusivity in the classroom for the staff members. The School District has an online course about immigrants, but staff complain it takes too much time and has too many links. A request was made for short online modules that the staff could do and then come to staff meetings and discuss.

 

Project Description

The project is aimed at mainstream American school staff for them to learn more about adult Muslim refugees and the children of Muslim families.  Mainstream Americans refers to people who have been born in and grew up in the United States their whole lives. This includes Black people, 3rd and 4th generation Latino Americans and Asian Americans, as well as White people. 

 

Many Muslim students are refugees or immigrants. In America, there is a lack of understanding about the Islam religion and Muslim people. The four coordinated terrorist attacks by an Islamic terrorist group called al-Qaeda against the United States on September 11, 2001, brought awareness of Muslims in the forefront of American consciousness.  Not being able to distinguish subgroups, all Muslims in the United States, especially those wearing traditional Muslim clothing, were swept into a single prejudiced view. This prejudiced view, often referred to as Islamophobia, created a hostile climate for Muslim children. As a result of this historic event and media messages, Muslim children may be exposed to prejudices very early on. Muslim children often endure discrimination and prejudice and this could possibly impair their learning environment. Making sure that the children feel safe in the school environment it is necessary for their accessibility to learning and to be open to teachers and classmates. Some children hide their identities as Muslim in order to avoid being made fun of or being discriminated against.  

 

Presentation

            The name of this project is Understanding Muslim Culture includes four online modules that teachers at a school can review in a short time and discuss as at a staff meeting. The project addresses the issues of understanding where the Muslim children are coming from and what they endure outside of the classroom as well. This is addressed by modules about islamophobia, refugees, and Ramadan.

 

The Islamophobia module addresses the media aspect of the child’s life and how that affects their health and their ability to feel safe in a space. There are four modules to view.

  • Understanding Muslim Culture – Introduction: Overview on the topic, and including videos about the topic, and concludes with reflection questions.
  • Who a Refugee? This module teaches challenges faced by refugees and the difficulties refugee children must cope with, including schooling in  a new environment.
  • What is Islamaphobia? The Islamophobia module addresses the media aspect of the child’s life and how that affects their health and their ability to feel safe in a space.
  • What is Ramadan? The Ramadan module teaches the staff about something that is very important and central to the Islamic community. This module informs the staff about the importance of this holiday and how the holiday can affect a student’s participation in school.

 

All four modules are public and available at this website:  https://canvas.wisc.edu/courses/121615