Posted on Dec 28, 2022
Shawnee Mission South celebrates 30 years of teaching Arabic language and culture
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Shawnee Mission South High School is home to one of the country's oldest high school Arabic programs.
Every Friday, nearly a dozen students sit in chairs circled around their classroom — no desks in sight — at Shawnee Mission South High School, watching a series of Arabic music videos.
At the end of every week, each of the high school’s Arabic language classes pick a music video and compete over who chose the best one. It’s not how most classes look — or sound — at the end of the week, but teacher Annie Hasan said it's a way to break down barriers and get students talking.
“It's not taught in a very traditional Arab way or American way,” Hasan said. “We sit in a circle and they're up and moving, constantly talking. We play a lot of games and there's a lot of interaction.”
As the child of a Palestinian father and an American mother, Hasan said teaching Arabic is a way for her to create a bridge between the two cultures and help them understand each other better.
Every Friday, nearly a dozen students sit in chairs circled around their classroom — no desks in sight — at Shawnee Mission South High School, watching a series of Arabic music videos.
At the end of every week, each of the high school’s Arabic language classes pick a music video and compete over who chose the best one. It’s not how most classes look — or sound — at the end of the week, but teacher Annie Hasan said it's a way to break down barriers and get students talking.
“It's not taught in a very traditional Arab way or American way,” Hasan said. “We sit in a circle and they're up and moving, constantly talking. We play a lot of games and there's a lot of interaction.”
As the child of a Palestinian father and an American mother, Hasan said teaching Arabic is a way for her to create a bridge between the two cultures and help them understand each other better.
Shawnee Mission South celebrates 30 years of teaching Arabic language and culture
Posted from kcur.org
Teaching
Culture
Overland Park
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“I just think it's so cool because when you learn a language, you unlock this opportunity to communicate with millions of other people that you wouldn't have been able to as efficiently beforehand,” Martin said.
Martin said she’s surprised that the class has lasted so long, because when school districts need downsize, language programs can be one the first on the chopping block. Hasan credits the program’s longevity to support from an administration that recognizes that “we live in a smaller world.”
Since Hasan began teaching the program in 2009, she said it’s been steadily growing. When she started, there were 26 students in her classes. Now, she teaches around 55 students.
And while not all of her students will continue to study Arabic when they graduate, they won’t be leaving empty-handed.
“They sometimes leave my classroom and they are more experts on Arabic language and culture than maybe somebody who has already graduated college,” Hasan said."
..."“I just think it's so cool because when you learn a language, you unlock this opportunity to communicate with millions of other people that you wouldn't have been able to as efficiently beforehand,” Martin said.
Martin said she’s surprised that the class has lasted so long, because when school districts need downsize, language programs can be one the first on the chopping block. Hasan credits the program’s longevity to support from an administration that recognizes that “we live in a smaller world.”
Since Hasan began teaching the program in 2009, she said it’s been steadily growing. When she started, there were 26 students in her classes. Now, she teaches around 55 students.
And while not all of her students will continue to study Arabic when they graduate, they won’t be leaving empty-handed.
“They sometimes leave my classroom and they are more experts on Arabic language and culture than maybe somebody who has already graduated college,” Hasan said."
(2)
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