Somalia and Sexuality

Somalia is a country that is trying to keep itself tied to traditional and religious customs.  Somalia is a predominantly Islamic country, with some parts unofficially controlled by fundamentalist parties.  This foundation of Islam still plays a major part in the Somalia customs and views of sexuality to this day.  It can be difficult to gather and collect precise information on this subject, due in large part to the uncomfortable and restrictive nature of sexuality in Somalia.  One study shows that 90% of women in Somalia find premarital sex prohibited and said that they did not partake in it.  These women also reported that there is a very strict view against premarital sex that comes from both traditional and religious practises.

Views of homosexuality differ only slightly throughout the country.  Somalia is one of 74 countries where homosexuality is illegal.  It is also one of 12 countries in the world where the punishment can be death, though usually it is only used as a penalty in the fundamentalist controlled areas.  Any member of the LGBT community can be openly discriminated against and denied employment or housing.  It was impossible to find any information on the percentage of possible Somalia people who identify as LGBT, which is easy to understand due to the horrific punishment they could receive.  These views told homosexuality come from their past religious ties and globalization has done little to alter these views in many countries.

In my observance of a classroom at Winooski High School, a discussion was introduced by the teacher that involved an article about a gay student.  The discussion centered on the civil rights aspect of all people in the United States and many of the students voiced their opinions freely.  Some of the students, including my partner O, were refugees from Somalia and engaged in the conversation as well.  As a civil rights issue, most of the students agreed that basic human and civil rights applied to all people, regardless of sex, race, gender, or sexuality.  I believe that open discussion is the best tool we have as educators to help students understand, think, and contemplate global issues such as these.

The Use of QR Codes in the Classroom

Epstein's Framework of Six Types of Involvement

Epstein's Framework of Six Types of Involvement lists the most effective means for teachers and families to build a long standing and strong connection to best benefit the respective student and child.  The establishment of a sound relationship that encourages interaction from both the teacher and the parents is critical in a student's ability to reach their full potential.  Learning is a constant process that must take place not only at school, but at home as well.  Teachers and parents working in tandem to develop continuous learning demonstrates to students the importance of life long education.  It also presents to students the value that both their teachers and parents place in their success.  The two types I want to focus on as an educator are communicating and learning at home.

Communicating means establishing an effective process to relay information from school to home and back about the student's progress and school activities.  This results in parents being more aware of their child's sustains and improvements, helps teachers understand family views and diversity better, and creates better awareness for students of school programs.  This can be practiced by weekly progress reports sent by students to families or emails directly to parents.  Face to face conferences or Skype meetings can also be an effective way to convey information and concerns to and from parents and teachers.  Challenges can be if the parents do not speak English or if the parents do not respond timely to the teacher's information.

Learning from home works in connection with communicating and provides information and ideas to families to help students at home with homework or activities.  This can result in better homework completion, increased test scores, better understanding by parents of their student's work and learning, and in teachers have better input in the design of their assignments.  Learning from home can be practiced by having teachers establishing assignment calenders for students and parents, having family activities at school, and disseminating information to parents on homework requirements and policies.  The challenge can be in coordinating interactive activities that can be completed at home with families.

When I become an educator, I believe that open communication with parents is the most important commodity I can obtain.  The challenge is to show parents that I value their input, but that I must also be aware of how to best develop their student's education.  I am sure that this can be a fine line to institute, but communication will hopefully establish trust in what we want the student to accomplish.

Australia's Secondary School System

Australia is a developed nation that is currently ranked 6th in the world for their education system.  Australia spends 5.3% of their GDP on education.  The Australian government places a large amount of value on their educational system.  In Australia, 99% of their students enroll into a secondary school once their primary education is complete.  Australia has three types of secondary school for their students to attend: Government, Catholic, and Independent. Government schools are free to students, but Catholic and Independent schools do charge students a fee for attending.

Students in Australia attend secondary school for four to six years, with 3-4 years in secondary school and 1-2 years in senior secondary school.  Australia's population is overwhelmingly concentrated in urban areas, with 89.4% of their students from this background.  Education is compulsary until grade 11, which demonstrates the value that the country holds on educating their adolescents.  This has helped students though, with 88% of people 25-34 holding a degree from a secondary institution.


Links: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog http://www.australiaeducation.info/K12/facts-and-statistics-of-australian-school-education-system.html

   

Gaining deeper insight on my ELL Partner

O is a young freshman student who currently attends Winooski High School.  He is Somalian and has moved recently with his family from Burlington back to the Winooski area.  O has shown that he is a competent student, yet he is not always confident in his knowledge or comprehension of academic English.  He is a friendly person, talkative to his friends, and seems to be well liked by his classmates.  When O is confident in himself or his answers, he is loud and eager for the class to hear his responses.  In contrast, when it comes to what he deems to be his weaknesses, he becomes quieter and tries to remain unnoticed.

O has not spoken of or shared details about his family or friends, but he has shared his passion for basketball.  O enjoys and participates in basketball and plays the Forward position. He was quick to discuss his favorite NBA team and players after he had worked on his essay in class.  While working on his essay together, O’s work demonstrated firsthand how adept he was at understanding academic English.  He also displayed areas in his grammar and sentence structures where he needed further guidance and improvement.  O has demonstrated himself be a hard worker who is able to adjust to his situation accordingly and is enthusiastic to progress in his work.

O is from Somalia, which is a turbulent nation that has experienced unrest, famine, and conflicts throughout its history.  Somalia has a population of an estimated 10.8 million and is the world’s third largest source of refugees, behind Syria and Afghanistan.  The driving factors for many of the refugees to leave Somalia are drought, famine, floods, and a lack of economic opportunities for themselves.  O has not shared the reason for his family’s exit from Somalia, but it is logical to assume that any of these horrific factors could be the cause.  O has not informed me if he personally experienced life in a refugee camp, but given his age, it is reasonable that he must have endured some amount of time there.

The Importance of Planning

After completing the readings, I believe that two major takeaways are vital to the success of a strong advisory plan.  The most immediate point is that an educator must properly plan, from daily tasks to monthly and quarterly planning.  Without an established plan of goals and course of action, the teacher and students do not have a proper understanding of what is or will be conducted.  In the army, we had the phrase, "A failure to plan is a plan to fail", and I believe that this is true in the education field. Time is a valuable asset that can not be recovered and educators must make the most out of every minute in order to ensure their students are as prepared as they can be.

Planning that is conducted within the team with other teachers and in the classroom are both important aspects of the advisory team.  Each teacher brings their own strengths to the team and through proper planning, those skill sets can be fully exploited for the students' success.  Planning through the team also allows for each teacher to bring their experience or concerns so that an issues or compromises can be resolved.

The other part of a strong advisory team is contact with the parents of the students. Teachers and parents should both feel empowered in their student's success.  Open lines of communication between educators and students means more than just contacting one another when a student under performs.  It means letting the parents know when their student is exceeding the standard and encouraging participation from the parents.  On the other side, parents must not wait until their students are failing or struggling to try and be pro active in their student's life.  They must converse with the teachers to inform them of major changes that have the possibility to affect their student's work, both positively and negatively.  

Researching Somalia

The student who is an English Language Learner that I will be working with this semester is from the Federal Republic of Somalia.  In preparation, I have researched the country of Somalia and the culture in order to give myself some intial insight for my first visit.  The Federal Republic of Somalia has a population of 10.8 million people, with the languages of Somali, Arabic, Italian, and English being spoken.  The history of Somalia has been a troubled one, marked by turmoil, faction fighting, and anarchy since 1969.  In 2000, the Somalia National Peace Conference resulted in the formation of the Transitional National Government.  The Transitional Federal Government has followed and has the Transitional Federal Parliament to help govern through President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

38% of Somalia's population is literate with 6-8 years of formal education being the standard.  A large amount of Somalia's population is nomadic, which contributes to the national's lower literacy rate.  Somalia also has very high rates of discrimination against women in social instutions.  Current articles on Somalia involve the possibility of an upcoming famine and concerns for the upcoming election.

Articles: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/somalia-on-brink
                http://www.voanews.com/a/somalia-changes-presidential-election-venue/3706421.html