Day 4: Hearing perspectives

On Monday, 18 January, we began our day at the Dar Al-Kalima Lutheran School and it was a great experience!  The principal (a Palestinian Christian woman) spoke with us about the philosophy of the school and all of the details about class size, etc. etc...and I was very impressed.  I thought to myself that my sister would be very proud of this school!  Every student, regardless of academic achievement, is evaluated for their gifts.  Granted there is a 25 student maximum per class (K-12), but it is a private school and it does not turn students away if they can't make the tuition.  There is an "after school" program for all students each school day (I can't remember what they called it...?), but students in grades K-6 rotate through several activities including art, music, sports, drama, creative writing, etc., and then when they get in the upper grades they specialize in one or two areas based on their abilities and interest.  I was also impressed with the philosophy that their mission is based on the students and not the teachers...they focus on what students need and how fast students can learn as individuals and the teachers adapt to the students...of course, they have minimum expectations but students are screened in order to be accepted to the school so it didn't seem that they had trouble with students underachieving academically.  And 100% of their graduates go on to college, which is unheard of in Palestine.

We visited a few classrooms and it was so delightful!  The kids were so friendly and polite and loved to talk to us.  They were very boisterous when we were in the rooms, but it did not seem to bother the teachers at all.  I was trying to talk with one of the teachers at one point and it was so loud in the classroom we could hardly hear each other, but she never turned to the students and told them to be quiet, she accepted their joy and the fact that kids need to be kids now and then!  Since it was a rainy day, there was no recess outside and the youngest kids were riding tricycles around in circles and using them as bumper cars in the entryway to the school.  This seemed totally normal to all of the people that worked there!  I doubt this would happen anywhere in the U.S.  It was so fun watching them.  They never ran into walls, doors, or furniture...just each other...and that was okay too!

Later, we drove by Solomon's Well, the place where Solomon developed cisterns to store water.  It is amazing how resourceful people were so long ago without the luxuries we have today!

The next portion of our day was spent listening to the stories and viewpoints of two Palestinian Christians about the Conflict here in Israel/Palestine.  It is such a complicated situation.  I really feel that we as a class are being encouraged, or nudged, to take one particular side of this issue, and I am impressed with how many of us are aware of the bias we are hearing and are remaining objective and asking good questions.  And it is a diverse group of us who are not 'jumping on the band wagon' so soon.  I won't go into too much detail on this topic while I am over here, but will save it for a post once I get back home.  We will be visiting with more people on different sides of the issue, so in waiting I hope to have a better perspective myself before sharing anything on here.

One last story I will share about Day 4 is that we stopped at a cave that is between Bethlehem and Nazareth near Shepherd's Fields.  It is believed that Mary and Joseph, with Jesus, came to this cave on their way back to Nazareth after Jesus' birth.  The cave is part of a Franciscan Monk colony.  We hurried inside the cave because it began pouring rain on us and we were all milling around looking at what the cave had to offer...a little bit of stoneware and a Nativity and a fake campfire...well, we were being a little loud and a man who apparently worked there came in from a room off to the side and asked us to quiet down since this was a place of worship (we were the only other ones in there at the time), so we, of course, quieted right down, and I mean not a peep out of us.  Then, not thirty seconds after the man reprimanded us, his cell phone rang and someone from our group (who will remain nameless!  and no, it was NOT me but I was thinking it...) said "SHHH!"  I don't know if you've ever 'heard' twenty four Lutherans bust out laughing to themselves before but it took every ounce of gumption inside to keep quiet at that moment!

All is well,
Tara