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Using Syrian Refugee Literature in Secondary English Classrooms

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Using Syrian Refugee Literature in Secondary English Classrooms TEACHING TOLERANCE: USING SYRIAN REFUGEE LITERATURE IN SECONDARY ENGLISH CLASSROOMS Samantha B. Weiss A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS December 2018 Committee: Jolie Sheffer, Advisor Siew Chat Burroughs © 2018 Samantha B. Weiss All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jolie Sheffer, Advisor In March 2018, the United Nations High Council for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that there are currently more refugees in the world than there have been since WWII (Woolley 377). Nearly 11.5 million of those displaced were forced from their homes by the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 (UNHCR). According to Aline Lo, despite the significance of this announcement and the growing disputes about asylum seekers admission to the United States, critical classroom discussions of refugee narratives are lacking in United States schools (3). As refugee crises increase around the globe, it is crucial that students are taught to critically and compassionately analyze refugee narratives. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) states that the main goal of the Standards is to develop independent thinkers, who will be successful in the globalized workforce and post-secondary institutions of the 21st century. The ability to grapple with a topic like refugees, on multiple fronts, is central to developing such thinkers. Despite this, the CCSS offers few incentives or instructions for teachers to use multicultural or contemporary literature in their classrooms. I argue that the use of Syrian refugee literature, specifically in a secondary English Language Arts classroom, fosters the development of critical thinking, source synthesis, critical empathy, and global citizenship: all of which help to prepare students for the world they will enter after high school. In this thesis, I propose an update to Critical Pedagogy, which I call Critically Reflective Pedagogy, for use when teaching this and similar topics. By combining the techniques of Critical Pedagogy with several situation-specific teaching methods, including Launching Lessons, Procedurally Directive Teaching, and Culturally Relevant Teaching, teachers can address the complex nature of the Syrian refugee crisis in constructive ways. The iv pedagogy focuses on personal reflection, source analysis, open discussion, and collaborative problem solving. Using postcolonial theory to analyze the texts, students are introduced to critical means of inquiry that can be used to understand the Syrian refugee crisis and other current events. The use of these methods helps to create an environment in which students can engage with challenging topics and make personal discoveries, in the service of developing a more empathetic and global perspective of Syrian refugees. I also include four lesson plans that can be used to teach the book Nujeen: One Girl's Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa with Christina Lamb. The goal of this pedagogy and the accompanying lesson plans is that they can be adapted to address other current humanitarian crises as they arise, such as the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, so students leave their language arts classes with the tools to handle complex problems outside of the school building. v For all displaced people. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am not usually one to admit defeat, but there were several times while working on this thesis that I felt that I would never achieve this dream. I regularly told myself that I was not cut out for this level of work and that I would never finish it. I worked myself into panic several times over looming – and missed – deadlines, as well as mistakes and revisions. Though it has been an exceedingly long process for me, I am sure it has felt even longer to those who helped me through it. While it is not possible to list everyone who has had a hand in my success, there are several people who I wish to thank for their continued support and encouragement. Growing up, I was encouraged to dream big and I always told I could accomplish anything. From supporting my early bid to be the first female president when I was 10 to celebrating my acceptance to graduate school to discussing my classes and thesis topic at length, my mom, Jennifer McDemus has always been the most important support in my life. Without her belief in my ability to succeed, I have no doubt that I would not have made it to this point and I would not be looking to the future. Thank you for your unending encouragement and motherly love, when I needed it most. Thank you to my siblings: Caitlyn and Justin, who constantly give me reasons to strive to do better. Dad, thanks for always being there for me, even when I was unbearable. And to my best friend, Cassie, who is more like my sister: I am not sure how you put up with me, but I am forever thankful for everything you do for me, from midnight phone calls to check in to celebrating my successes and helping me through failures, from afar. Andrew, I cannot imagine having gone through this experience without you. You kept me calm when I was a mess and I cannot thank you enough for that. Between making me watch YouTube videos to calm down to reminding me to take naps, you are one of the main reasons I have been able to complete this project. I honestly could not have done it without you here with me and I cannot wait to take on another program with you beside me in the future. vii A special thank you to my cohort; the five of you made it possible for me to get through this program, especially on the more difficult days. Thank you for offering suggestions, providing emotional support, helping me to grow as a scholar and a person, standing up for me, and always grounding me. I am so grateful to have met each of you and had the chance to see you develop as people, as well as to learn from each of you. I will miss coffee dates and movie nights, but I look forward to seeing the amazing things that each of you accomplish. Finally, thank you to my incredible committee, Dr. Jolie Sheffer and Dr. Kitty Burroughs for helping me to grow as a learner and a researcher through this project. I value your expertise and your willingness to share it with students. I cannot thank you enough for your patience with me and the project, as both have been a challenge. Your advice and feedback have been essential to my ability to finish this thesis in a way which makes me proud. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………..... 1 CHAPTER II. CRITICALLY REFLECTIVE PEDAGOGY: A PEDAGOGY OF COMPASSION AND QUESTIONING ............................................................................. 13 ........... From Critical Pedagogy to Critically Reflective Pedagogy .................................... 18 ........... Providing Practical Instructions for Teachers and Students ........................ 26 ........... Technology in the Critically Reflective Classroom .................................... 26 ........... Addressing the Psychosocial Needs of the Students ................................... 29 ........... Teaching Contemporary Skills with Contemporary Texts .......................... 32 ........... Using Critically Reflective Pedagogy with Nujeen: One Girl’s Incredible Journey from ........... War-torn Syria in a Wheelchair ............................................................................. 32 CHAPTER III. “I HATE THE WORD REFUGEE”: CHALLENGING DOMINANT DISCOURSES ABOUT DISPLACEMENT ..................................................................... 48 Focus on Critical Thinking …………………………………………. ..................... 54 Focus on Source Synthesis ……………………………………………………… ... 68 Focus on Critical Empathy .................................................................................... 73 Focus on Global Citizenship .................................................................................. 81 CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION ………………………. ................................................... 90 WORKS CITED ……. ...................................................................................................... 95 APPENDIX A. LESSON PLANS FOR NUJEEN: ONE GIRL’S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY FROM WAR-TORN SYRIA IN A WHEELCHAIR …………………………………………. 100 APPENDIX B. COMPILED SOURCES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ………… 126 ix APPENDIX C. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS ................... 127 APPENDIX D. ALTERNATIVE TEXTS ABOUT SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS ............ 132 APPENDIX E. COMMON CORE STANDARDS AND TEXT EXEMPLARS ............... 134 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Model for Meaning-Making .................................................................................. 30 2 Pre-Reading Opening Discussion Questions ........................................................... 34 3 Pre-Reading Second Discussion ............................................................................. 37 4 Possible Classroom Dialogue ................................................................................ 43 5 The CCSS Lexile Standards .................................................................................. 57 1 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION The United High Council for Refugees (UNHCR) reports an unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world are currently displaced from their home because of violence or persecution. Of that statistic, an astounding 22.5 million of those individuals have taken refuge in other countries (UNHCR). The only other historical moment that has seen such large figures was the immediate
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