Where to begin and what you need to know:
What you do matters.
A Note to Educators:
Teaching about current events in real time often leaves us a little frightened--unsure if we have all of our basic facts in order. While we here at I Am Syria have done our best to make this process as easy as possible with click-and-use materials, we recommend approaching this situation with a touch of audacity--knowing that integrating this material today is far more important than waiting years for the dust to settle. For some further perspective on why doing so is important, read "Why Teaching About Syria Matters", written by our Educational Team.
Teaching about current events in real time often leaves us a little frightened--unsure if we have all of our basic facts in order. While we here at I Am Syria have done our best to make this process as easy as possible with click-and-use materials, we recommend approaching this situation with a touch of audacity--knowing that integrating this material today is far more important than waiting years for the dust to settle. For some further perspective on why doing so is important, read "Why Teaching About Syria Matters", written by our Educational Team.
Where to splice this material into your course:
We all learn best where there are connections to what we previously know. Given that, a natural segue is to link this crisis to the "Push" factors that compelled millions of Europeans to come to the U.S.; or, from exploring the hardships they faced arriving. For Global Studies, using the context of the migration of peoples allows students to connect the past to the present--as does linking it to Mesopotamia. Another solid connection is to link this crisis to the Boston Massacre, the Age of Absolutism, or to Human Rights and Genocide Studies. It can also be included by studying totalitarianism in government, reading "1984" in English class, or, through examining the lack of world response to refugees before the Holocaust.
We all learn best where there are connections to what we previously know. Given that, a natural segue is to link this crisis to the "Push" factors that compelled millions of Europeans to come to the U.S.; or, from exploring the hardships they faced arriving. For Global Studies, using the context of the migration of peoples allows students to connect the past to the present--as does linking it to Mesopotamia. Another solid connection is to link this crisis to the Boston Massacre, the Age of Absolutism, or to Human Rights and Genocide Studies. It can also be included by studying totalitarianism in government, reading "1984" in English class, or, through examining the lack of world response to refugees before the Holocaust.
Syrian student Hamza al-Khateeb
A ten-minute primer on Syria that you can play during your lunch:
The conflict in Syria began as an offshoot of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. Sparked on April 29th, 2011 in the town of Daraa by a group of 13-year old boys led by Hamza al-Khateeb who wrote on the side of their school "The Government must go!", the movement began as an organic uprising for democracy. Since then, it has since disintegrated into a cauldron of competing rebel groups, terrorist elements, international powers, and religious factions--all with four hundred thousand Syrians killed and millions more displaced. To become acquainted with this history, play the brief Vox Video, Syria's war: Who is fighting and Why, as well as In a Nutshell's The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained. For those who prefer print, be sure to check out CNN's Syria's War: Everything you need to know about how we got here, the UN's up-to-date report on the crossings and drownings, with other teacher-vetted resources available at our Additional Information for Educators page.
The conflict in Syria began as an offshoot of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. Sparked on April 29th, 2011 in the town of Daraa by a group of 13-year old boys led by Hamza al-Khateeb who wrote on the side of their school "The Government must go!", the movement began as an organic uprising for democracy. Since then, it has since disintegrated into a cauldron of competing rebel groups, terrorist elements, international powers, and religious factions--all with four hundred thousand Syrians killed and millions more displaced. To become acquainted with this history, play the brief Vox Video, Syria's war: Who is fighting and Why, as well as In a Nutshell's The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained. For those who prefer print, be sure to check out CNN's Syria's War: Everything you need to know about how we got here, the UN's up-to-date report on the crossings and drownings, with other teacher-vetted resources available at our Additional Information for Educators page.