JEWISH AND MUSLIM SCHOOLKIDS JOIN HANDS FOR PROJECT
It’s a book written for a young audience, but its subject matter is deeply emotional, thoughtprovoking and worthy of intense discussion and debate.
On Wednesday morning, a group of Calgary kids gather at the Fish Creek public library branch to study and talk about The Breadwinner, a book by Canadian author Deborah Ellis that tells the story of a young girl in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
The popular book is part of Alberta’s curriculum, so it’s a scene that is regularly played out throughout the school year, with kids learning about the injustices under the brutal regime, and daily life through the eyes of a girl who must disguise herself as a boy in order to support her family.
What is different on this day is the makeup of the kids who sit side by side, animatedly discussing the assignment together in small groups.
The Grade 7 students hail from two local schools: Almadina Language Charter Academy, in northeast Calgary, and the Calgary Jewish Academy in the city’s southwest.
“We wanted to create a space where there aren’t easy categories and stereotypes,” says Calgary Jewish Academy teacher Lesley Machon, who came up with the idea for a cross-cultural study and discussion group with students from Almadina, which has a predominantly Muslim student population.
“We want to provide our students opportunities where they can emerge as independent thinkers with compassionate hearts.”
Machon, who worked at Almadina before moving to the Calgary Jewish Academy, earlier this year contacted friend and fellow teacher Jennifer Smith about the idea. They first brought the children together a week ago and plan another meeting next week for the project.
“Lesley is amazing at planning collaborative efforts,” says Smith, who teaches Grade 7 at Almadina, a charter public school where many of her students hail from other parts of the world.
“The focus of the book is a young girl and the difficult choices she faces under the Taliban,” says Smith, who adds her students were thrilled to be able to work with the predominantly Jewish children from the Calgary Jewish Academy. “Each group comes to the table with different perspectives and life experiences.”
Still, there are more than a few commonalities.
“My friends and I love unicorns and these girls love unicorns,” says Sasha, a Grade 7 student from the Calgary Jewish Academy, who just before we meet was in deep discussion with a girl wearing a hijab. “We also all like to play video games. They’ve been really nice to us and I think we’re making some new friends.”
Looking on at the noisy kidfilled room, Brenda English smiles broadly. “I think you need to get kids early when it comes to helping them better understand children from other backgrounds,” says English, head of the Calgary Jewish Academy.
“There has been a lot of interest around one another’s faith and culture, it’s incredible to see how into it they are,” she says. “Despite all the political strife and conflict in the world these days, it’s more important now than ever to create a culture of understanding for our youth. I really do believe something like this is a start to the change we want to see.”
In just over two years, these Grade 7 students will enter new schools as they move up into senior high grades. “This is a good place for them to get to know kids from the outside world,” says English. “They will enter bigger schools where they will meet kids from diverse backgrounds.”
The children are embracing the idea of coming together, judging by the smiles on the girls’ faces and the group of boys from both schools breaking into an air guitar competition.
While no one is expecting mountains to be moved on this day, the possibility of this new experience having a lasting impact doesn’t seem like a pipe dream.
“So much communication today is done from a computer or a smartphone,” says Talah, a Grade 7 student from Almadina.
“You really get a better understanding of someone when they are right in front of you, sharing thoughts and ideas,” says the 12-year-old girl who hopes to become a teacher one day. “And in the process, you get to make new friends.”