Wonderful story about Rahaf Othman and the importance of culturally competent teaching: Students Thrive When They Feel Welcomed in Schools

Palestinian Students Thrive When They Feel Welcomed in Schools

A Palestinian educator shares her experience and the value of inclusive classrooms

Key Takeaways

1. Students do better in school when their cultures and backgrounds are recognized.
2. Culturally responsive teaching helps to affirm and support students.
3. Learn how to create an inclusive classroom and more.

 Like many educators, Rahaf Othman knew from an early age that she wanted to grow up to be a teacher. “I used to play school with my younger siblings. I always had to be the teacher and they the students,” she fondly recalls. She also loved learning about the world around her.

But her love of learning was almost jeopardized after a classroom lesson went amiss. Othman’s fifth grade teacher gave students an assignment to select and research a country of their choice and present their findings to the class.

“I was born in Palestine. We immigrated to the United States as refugees—that's my history … and I was excited to share it,” she says. “I said to my teacher, ‘I want to do my presentation on Palestine.’ She looked at me compassionately and said, ‘Sweetie, Palestine doesn't exist. Do you want to do it on Israel or someplace else?’

“That conversation broke me,” shares Othman, adding that her grades went from passing to failing. She shut down, stopped caring about school, and was filled with questions about her identity.

She remembers thinking at the time, “If my teacher doesn't recognize where I'm from and doesn’t recognize my background—doesn’t see me—who am I?”

The following year things turned around for Othman. What made the difference?

“The teacher asked me where I was from, and I told her Palestine. She embraced it! She asked me to share with my classmates about [my homeland] and bring in artifacts and talk about them,” she says. “She completely rejuvenated me as a person and my education.”

She started to care about school again and went back to earning good grades and making honor roll.

Today, Othman is a 26-year veteran educator who teaches high school social studies in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, Ill.

While this incident in her fifth-grade classroom happened in the late 1980s, Othman says it’s common for Palestinian students today to encounter a similar experience.

Why Cultural Competence is Important

The southwest suburbs of Chicago have a large Palestinian American population, according to a report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. And despite their long history in the Chicagoland area and growing numbers, Othman shares that parents in neighboring school districts have “come to me complaining that their children’s geography class teachers are telling students Palestine does not exist,” she says. “It’s heartbreaking.”

More awareness of the Palestinian community is needed, and students need to feel affirmed and supported, adds Othman.

Culturally responsive teaching can help. An established body of research affirms what educators have long known: A culturally responsive and racially inclusive education benefits all ... AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE ORIGINAL  LINK TO READ AND THINK ABOUT THIS STORY IN FULL -> https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/palestinian-students-thrive-when-they-feel-welcomed-schools