EDU 629 week 4 DQ 1

  

Week 4 - Discussion 1

 

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

 

     

Salt   of This Sea

 We begin this week with the overall impressions of, Salt of This Sea (Milh Hadha al-Barh) 2008, by reading Ian Buckwalter's review of the film, "In 'This Sea, 'Salt Of Conflict Is Strong On The Tongue."  Soraya, who is Brooklyn born, travels to Palestine to retrieve her grandfather’s bank account.  Her journey back “home” is a challenging one, as she struggles to adapt to Palestine, the people, the culture, and the law.

 Begin by reading, In 'This Sea, 'Salt Of Conflict Is Strong On The Tongue about the film, Salt of this Sea. Included in the article are three brief clips from the movie: “I Need to Ask You a Few Questions”, “Heist”, and “This is My Home”.  Please watch these as well.  Next, respond to the following questions.  How do we help students from Middle Eastern countries who are either born here or have just arrived?  Knowing the kinds of struggles Soraya has experienced with her identity, how do we help our students experience less confusion?  In what ways can we value different ways of life, different value systems, different laws, and different expectations in the classroom?  In short, how do we effectively teach acceptance and understanding of values that are dissimilar to mainstream American culture so that students like Soraya can openly embrace and understand her heritage?

Guided Response: This film is presented in both English and Arabic. In reviewing the responses of your classmates, consider the importance of language in this film. Part of Soraya’s identity is in her ability to fluently speak both English and Arabic. Schools oftentimes are more concerned with a student’s ability to learn English over their ability to be bilingual. Respond to two of your classmates, explaining how you could help student like Soraya hold on to and preserve her first language in the classroom.  Identify some challenges you may encounter with the school and how you and your classmate could address these hurdles effectively to meet the student’s needs. 

  

Respond