Betsey Coleman, Colorado Academy (Denver, Colorado) and Jean Campbell, Education and Evaluation Consultant (Eugene, Oregon)
Betsey Coleman - Colorado Academy (Denver, Colorado)
Where, what and who do you teach?
Currently, I teach a grade nine class called Coming of Age in the World which is a language arts class with a lot of history. I am English Department Chair at Colorado Academy in Denver and coordinate a playwriting Institute. I work with grades 9-12 through my classes, playwriting institute and advisory. I have been teaching (in Canada and the US) since 1974.
How did you first become interested in learning and teaching about the Middle East?
I came to my interest in teaching about the Middle East through literature: Persepolis, Maus, The Kite Runner and such films as The Syrian Bride, The Lemon Tree, Waltz with Bahsir, Promises, The Band’s Visit, Jellyfish… . Then I developed a multigenre portfolio project and invited speakers to the school. I went to Hebrew University and took a 4-week course on the Modern Middle East and spent 4 weeks in Damascus doing community service and taking Arabic. Somewhere along the way, I met Barbara Petzen and Jonathan Friedlander at ISSA in Chicago. Since then, Barbara has visited and presented at my school for 4 years–she is the one that got me involved in MEOC.
What activities are most successful in introducing Middle East-related material?
Gallery walks, movies (Summer in Tehran, A Land Called Paradise, Promises), multigenre portfolio: art and writing based on Persian miniature creation. My most impactful project: kids study Persian miniatures and create their own personal miniatures (see photos). I also have students do research and creative writing on “youth in the Middle East,” a current story about teenagers in the Middle East from a newspaper. The kids turn the premise of the journalistic story into a piece of historical fiction. Other successful activities I have carried out include a speaker from the community on Afghanistan, having kids write monologues from the point of view of a Promises character, reading poetry of witness, video conferences with a poet from Nablus, using Project Look Sharp for media literacy and the Middle East, and projects on Middle Eastern rap.
What are the challenges and the rewards of teaching about the Middle East ?
The challenges and the rewards really go hand in hand. I find it challenging to worry about teaching multiple perspectives and having the parents react negatively. It doesn’t happen often but it has. On the other hand, when things go well, students really do learn that there are multiple perspectives and they are able to open their minds to those perspectives.
What will be your next Middle East-related project?
Probably something about teaching the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the arts: poetry, song, theatre–even circus! Perhaps something drawing upon Primary Source’s new Asia Society Afghanistan resource. Next year, I have received a Fulbright Teaching award to go to Israel, where I will carry out a project on “Teaching the Israeli-Palestinian Relationship through the Multiple Lenses and Voices of Popular and Traditional Arts.”
What kinds of professional development do you seek out?
This summer, I am attending Georgetown’s week-long class on the Middle East, and I hope to attend Dar Al Islam’s 2-week retreat at some point. I recently took Harvard’s online course on Middle Eastern graphic novels. I have traveled frequently to the Middle East with programs like Fulbright-Hays –so far my travels have taken me to Syria, Israel and Palestine, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan. I also participate in conferences like ISSA and MESA when I can present my work and exchange ideas with colleagues.
Jean Campbell – Education and Evaluation Consultant (Eugene, Oregon)
When did you become interested in learning and teaching about the Middle East?
In 1980, I began tutoring a University of Oregon (UO) graduate student in Education from Saudi Arabia. I was fascinated as he and his wife, other students, and local Muslims introduced me to their cultural patterns and religion. During my doctoral courses in Anthropology and Education, I conducted research on Middle East cultural identity, social organization, cultural change, stereotypes, and education. My advisor predicted, “Looks like the beginning of a life’s work!”
When did your involvement with MEOC start?
The Middle East Studies Association held its 1992 conference in Portland and I attended my first MEOC meeting. I was the World Affairs Council of Oregon’s Education Director. Former MEOC president Marta Colburn of PSU’s Middle East Studies Center and I coordinated the teacher workshop on “Cities of the Middle East”, in conjunction with the conference. Later, I served on the board and as Secretary, Book Awards Chair, and President.
How have you obtained first-hand knowledge of the Middle East?
Work and long-term friendships with international students and Middle Eastern Americans provided me with an introduction to the region. Travel in various roles to 11 MENA countries added awareness of its diversity and layers of history. Highlights include: studying Arabic at the American University in Cairo; working on a USAID project for education of Egyptian rural girls; visiting 60 archaeology sites on a Fulbright group trip to Jordan; serving as external evaluator on four Oregon State University-Tunisia projects; and seeing Saudi Arabia through PSU and National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations trips.
How has your work supported the goals of MEOC?
A former elementary teacher, I later worked in the UO international office and teacher education program. I infused Middle East content into social studies methods, global education, and intercultural communication courses. I taught PSU Middle East Anthropology and International Studies courses and involved students in outreach. With the NW Regional Educational Laboratory and PSU, I assisted with training programs in the U.S. for Egyptian, Pakistani, Saudi, and Yemeni educators. For 13 years, I was the PSU Middle East Studies Center Assistant/Associate Director, with outreach responsibilities including: teacher workshops, academic and cultural events, internships, speaker and media referrals, and a resource library. I served as Oregon Council for the Social Studies president, developed curriculum, and presented on the Middle East at many education conferences.
What do you find most challenging and rewarding in teaching and outreach?
Ongoing frustrations are the persistence of stereotypes, sometimes problematic U.S. foreign policy, and media focus on conflict. As seen with the unfolding situations in the diverse countries affected by “Arab Spring”, it is challenging to generalize about the region as a whole. I’ve found it most rewarding when students and participants have gained new perspectives and deepened understanding of the region’s diversity. I like playing a bridge role by bringing people of diverse backgrounds together and providing a forum in which they can interact and develop mutual respect. It has been gratifying when teachers served by MEOC and the organizations for which I have worked have expressed appreciation for up-to-date resources that help them teach about complicated issues. In Oregon, we’ve tried to serve educators throughout the state and to extend learning beyond one-day events. I’m a strong believer in the necessity, benefits, and pleasures of working collaboratively. It has been exciting to see the MEOC book awards become increasingly known and prestigious each year.
What are you up to currently?
I recently retired from PSU and am reflecting on which activities and research questions remain of interest. A student was surprised that I kept so many books; I responded that now I have time to read them! I am working as the external evaluator on a fascinating NEH-funded project co-sponsored by the International Museum of Muslim Cultures and Tougaloo College in Mississippi. I also am treasurer of the American Research Center in Egypt/Oregon chapter.
What will your next projects be?
I have many hopes for the time ahead: returning to Egypt to identify lasting benefits of the training for girls’ schools; publishing earlier research on stereotypes and identity; writing a children’s book and elementary curriculum; visiting additional places in the Middle East; teaching an occasional university course; continuing to support MEOC’s work; trying to revive my Arabic; improving my Middle East cooking skills; and reading my anthropology books!
