Fostering Friendships:
A Study Guide to Iraq for Elementary
and Middle School Teachers
Challenging stereotypes and expanding knowledge by providing information and educational resources are a central goal of AFSC’s new study guide.
By introducing the rich culture and history of the Arab world, the study guide offers students the opportunity to evaluate recent U.S. actions and policies in the region.
Featuring interactive exercises on geography, language, colonialism, and culture, children will learn about deserts, waterways, customs, and discoveries from the Middle East that are relevant today. They will learn some of the things they have in common with children in Iraq, and some of the differences.
One of the seven units examines the cost and consequences of the Gulf War and continuing sanctions, offering alternatives based on Quaker values of nonviolence and seeing that of God in eveyone. Students will be introduced to a Middle Eastern way of conflict resolution called SULHA (reconciliation). They will be encouraged to explore moral questions of war and peace, and to critique collective punishment.
Although study guide units build on one another, the study guide provides flexibility to be used in its entirety, unit by unit, or as independent topics of study. The lessons can easily be adapted to fit the needs of individual classes or study groups. Whether spending a month or an afternoon studying Iraq, Fostering Friendships provides insights into the history, culture, and current situation in Iraq and suggests creative ways of teaching this information.
Topics include:
- Geography
- Culture
- The History of Iraq
- Iraq Today
- Peace Education and Conflict Resolution
- One Million Postcards - Video
- Resources
- Appendix
Students will have the opportunity to draw upon their own creative resources by participating in an art exchange between American and Iraqi children. Culminating in a traveling exhibit scheduled for August 2000, the art exchange is a concrete way of creating common bonds between children.
An exciting component of Fostering Friendships is the video One Million Postcards (running length 12 minutes), produced as a resource for educators to accompany the study guide. One Million Postcards is the inspiring story of two grade-schoolers in California who are conducting a million postcard campaign to the U.S. president protesting the sanctions against Iraq. Directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Joan Mandell, One Million Postcards shows how children can become involved in international affairs through grassroots organizing and activism.
For teachers, a companion reader is included that provides an historical context of A regional strife, a glossary of Middle East terms, a bibliography, information about stereotypes, and an overview of the 1991 Gulf War, including the ramifications of the nine-year embargo imposed on Iraq by the United Nations Security Council.
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