"Add to your cultural baggage": Words from MMSD bilingual specialist

Ruba Victor AlSamanThis is my fourth year working as an Arabic Bilingual Resource Specialist (BRS) for the Madison Metropolitan School District. I am originally from Jordan, and I love my job -- it is very rewarding. I support families and students and teachers all around the district with all the resources, interpretations, and translations they might need (from English to Arabic and vice versa). I also facilitate home-school communications and home-community communications.

As a BRS I not only work with Arabic speaking students but also with different non-native English speakers who come from different parts of the world. We learn a lot from each other. It’s great that these children can enroll at schools while their parents study too. They are ELLs (English Language Learners), and the support they get is usually from English as a Second Language (ESL) staff and BRS’ such as me, who speak their language.

One of the ways that can really make a big difference to these children is smiling to them and greeting them in their home language so what I usually do is teach the staff at the schools some greetings in Arabic as simple as “salam” which is used for greetings and farewells and also means “peace.” “Shokran” means “thank you,” and “momtaz” means “good job.” Give it a try if you meet any Arabic speaking students and see the big smile that shows on their faces when you greet them in their language!

When people move to a new country that is totally new to them it takes them a long time to totally adjust to this new community, so it takes a lot of patience when teaching these children. We shouldn’t forget that they are leaning English at the same time they are learning other subjects and trying to acclimate themselves to the new routines at home and school.

Most behavioral issues that these students have are due to the lack of friends and language. They feel stuck and confined and they can’t express themselves easily. They might not get homework help at home because their dads or moms might be taking night classes or have limited English language. Teachers can differentiate or simplify the homework for these children with the help of the ESL teachers and BRS staff to make sure these students can do their homework independently.

Keeping Arabic books and lots of visuals for these students in the classroom usually helps a lot.

Maintaining the native language is also very important, which is why I offered to teach Arabic classes through Madison School & Community Recreation after school so these students can keep their language.

We also encourage international food fairs, multicultural nights, and events at different schools in the district and organize parent’s empowerment groups and other events that can help build a strong community in which everyone feels welcomed and learns from one another and each culture is recognized and valued.

There will be an International Food fair at Lapham Elementary school on Saturday March 9 from 11-1.

Shorewood Elementary school celebrates its diversity for a whole week in the month of March. Events include:

• International Doll Display, March 1-April 5, Shorewood library display case
• National Dress Parade and Performance, March 13 at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., Shorewood gym: The SHES National Dress Parade and International Performance of music and dance exhibit the unique and diverse cultural characteristics of our school community. A 9 a.m. parade and performance is dedicated to the student body and staff.  The 6 p.m. parade and performance is for parents, family members, and friends.
• Global Village, March 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Shorewood Elementary school classrooms: SHES classrooms exhibit national displays central to our diverse cultural community.
• International Food Fair, March 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Shorewood gym and cafeteria: During the annual Food Fair the school gym and lunchroom are transformed into a huge international dining hall filled with authentic and delicious native foods from around the world.  This is your opportunity to experience the tastes of our community. Everyone’s contribution makes this incredible community building event!

Please join us during the International Food fairs to try tasty foods from all around the world. (There will be a slight fee to support both schools.)

And please don’t forget to contact me if you have any questions or could use my help with any family or students who could use my help. I can be reached at: rvalsaman@madison.k12.wi.us.