The program for the Eritrean community teachers provides educational tools for coping with common issues such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, self-confidence and identity
Photo: UNHCR Israel
In a unique program, initiated by UNHCR in Israel, 22 Eritrean teachers gained new educational skills to be shared with their young students, the children of asylum seekers. They acquired methods for improving learning in general as well as improving self-confidence and the relationship between the teacher and student.
The teachers are part of a community-initiated network of after schools called “Abugida” (the alphabet in Tigrinya) which have been set up by parents, teachers and leaders from among the Eritrean asylum seekers in Israel. The eight “Abugida” schools are located throughout Israel, from Netanya in the north through Ashdod and Kiryat Malachi to Eilat in the south.
“… over time we realized that their needs are not only physical, but that these teachers also need educational and emotional support”
Kedest Geberwold, an education specialist working for UNHCR in Israel, talks about the need she identified in the community that led to the creation of the program: “I did a mapping and found that most of the teachers who teach in these schools teach because they know Tigrinya but they have no professional training. There was no organized curriculum or teaching methods of positive reinforcement and understanding of the children’s needs.”
Tovi Rofe, a pedagogical instructor, and a parent counselor at “Mesila”, joint forces with Kedest and together they built a program of 12 sessions (which was held online, due to the geographic distance of the five schools, except for the opening and closing physical sessions) whose main goal was to provide teachers with tools, help them develop professionally and improve the relationship between the teachers and student, in order to facilitate teaching and improve learning.
“We used to support these community schools with school supplies, such as whiteboards, tables, chairs, toys and markers, but over time we realized that their needs are not only physical, but that these teachers also need educational and emotional support,” Kedest states.
Futsum Weldemichael is an asylum seeker and an advocate on education issues in the Eritrean asylum seeker community. He, along with two other representatives from the community, united all the Eritrean after-schools in 2017, and established a forum that meets and discusses education issues in the community, shares learning materials and facilitates mutual support.
“Most parents don’t have the time or ability to sit down and help the kids with the lessons, sometimes the parents aren’t home during those hours or come back late, tired from work, so we opened these schools up so they could have extra help in English, mathematics and also in Tigrinya.” Futsum, who participated in the course as a teacher and principal of an Eritrean school in Netanya, adds: “They must know their language, otherwise how will they converse with their grandparents and uncles. They learn Hebrew in the morning and then get support in English and math and also in their own language.”
In addition to his central role in the community, for the past five years Futsum has also been the principal of the school in Netanya, where 75 students attend, from kindergarten to sixth grade. Since last September, he has also stepped into the shoes of the Tigrinya teacher. “I don’t have a teacher’s certificate, but I had written material and study plans that I collected over the years. You won’t find many people with a degree in education from Eritrea, because most of them had to leave the country in the middle of their studies.”
The graduating class with UNHCR issued certificates. Futsum sitting down third from the left. Photo: UNHCR Israel
Both teachers and students face a wide range of challenges. The ages in these after-school programs range from 4-5 to even 14 years. This brings many different developmental and cognitive needs not to mention content adjustment. This means a teacher has 4 or 5 age groups and each with completely different needs.
During the course, the teachers shared unique but also universal difficulties, such as learning difficulties, common ADHD behaviors and more. The course syllabus reflects themes that would have been appropriate for any educational program, such as encouraging and supporting the child as means of strengthening self-confidence. However the question of identity sheds light on the singularity of this group of teachers and the challenges they face.
“Growing up in Eritrea and growing up in Israel are very different, and parents need tools”
“In the course we learned how to deal with children who don’t listen, how to calm them down. I understood, for example, that instead of addressing the child in class in front of his peers, you have to find a way to approach him after the situation… check what he is interested in, what he likes, what are his strengths, so that he doesn’t develop a low self-esteem or a “problem maker” in his own eyes, because he’ll continue with it,” explains Futsum. “If he loves football then the teacher can say in front of everyone: ‘Well done! You’re such a pro in soccer!’, When we focus on the strengths, we help and paint a more positive picture for himself.”
Another challenge for the Eritrean teachers, is the very long day of studies for their students. The children are expected sit down and concentrate until the evening, although they have been studying in regular school since the morning. In addition, the Abugida schools are often spaces that don’t inspire or supports learning. “Throughout the course, we have heard a lot about issues relating to the physical space,” explains Tovi. “Remember, the learning take place in very modest classrooms, so even if we talk about the importance of movement or getting up to stretch at the end of a lesson, in practice, there isn’t necessary such space for movement or play, an option for going outside to a nearby park, it’s just not in the basic conditions of the schools.”
During the course, Tovi and Kedest introduced various activities to help this particular issue. Exercises to relief stress such as: wheelbarrow walking, scorpion walk, stress ball to keep hands busy without interrupting the lesson or friends.
The women graduating from the first class, together with Tovi (R) and Kedest (L). Photo: UNHCR Israel
During the final session of the course, Sanyet, one of the three female teachers in the course said “The question of identity is a question that every one of our children asks, children are looking for identity and we learned some tools for dealing with this question, how to answer it. We also learned about different children, hyperactive children, we learned how to create a better relationship between the child and the teacher. Parents need guidance, too. Growing up in Eritrea and growing up in Israel are very different and parents need tools. I used the examples you gave us in class and it really helped.”
“In this course I met parents who care about their children and their family, they really want to be able to create a better, brighter future for themselves and their children, it is almost impossible to live without this possibility…”
Tovi adds: “One of the most significant goals of the course was to empower and enrich the teachers, not just to provide them with tools but to let them reflect on what they do, share what is happening in the classroom and think collectively, why it happened.”
“This course helped us get to know each other better, and that was part of the learning, Futsum shares.
“At the end of the day, children are children, but their conditions are more complex than those of Israeli teachers” says Tovi, “so if you are a child with attention deficit disorder, or hypersensitivity, like many children in the Israeli education system, you are in a place where you don’t belong, and it adds a layer to the other set of issues Israeli children deal with.”
The challenges vis-à-vis young students sometimes sound very familiar to anyone who has been a student, or educator, but the third party and – non formal partner in this relationship, is the parent. There, too, as in the children’s challenges, Tovi finds many similarities between what motivates a parent, any parent, whether Eritrean or Israeli. “In this course I met parents who care about their children and their family, they really want to be able to create a better, brighter future for themselves and their children, it is almost impossible to live without this possibility, to imagine a future, and not just a future, but a good future! There are children here, who deserve to dream of themselves as successful adults.”
Kedest and Tovi believe that this is only the beginning of the journey and the teacher’s courses. “We are witnessing enormous demand from more schools, more teachers and also for follow-up content. Pedagogical guidance is something that never ends, it’s an area that is constantly learning and sharing,” says Tovi. Last week, a second group of teachers started, and concurrently, Kedest and Tovi are working on a follow-up course, that will be dedicated to “in depth” meetings, to be able to help and guide the teams with their particular challenges, with each school and each teacher.
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