OCTOBER 2023

FEATURE
Changing Education
Chaldeans have changed how Michigan learns
BY CAL ABBO
Chaldeans have lived and learned
in Michigan for over 100 years.
During that time, they have
brought with them and transmitted
their culture and traditions, including
how knowledge is passed down and
inherited.
The defining characteristics of Chaldeans
as it relates to education are family
and community. Much of what one
learns, contrary to the popular culture
and system, is borne out of an informal
education within the household or
workplace. This understanding helps
to frame the system through which new
and ancient knowledge is conveyed.
The most important consideration,
however, is the speed with which these
systems are changing and how Chaldeans
have integrated into a traditional
public/private school system.
In Chaldean culture, men and women
play vastly different roles within the
family unit, which affects how knowledge
is shared with them. Men and
women tend to congregate with one
another and learn from members of the
same group, which perpetuates and accentuates
gender roles and differences.
In ancient Chaldean society, for
example, young women learned from
their elders how to run a household or
raise children. They also learned crafts
and technical skills as it relates to
cooking food or making clothes. Men,
on the other hand, often shadowed
their father’s work or took an apprenticeship
with another family member.
There, they learned the ins and outs of
productive work that could earn some
money and support the family.
This system shows vast differences
from the American one that we
are used to. Most importantly, there is
little barrier to entry. One only has to
be a part of a family or the community,
and they are rewarded with access
to knowledge, rather than buying it
through tuition or offering their time in
unpaid internships. This educational
practice was crucial to the first Chaldeans
who arrived in Michigan and the
generations since.
The ribbon cutting for St. Thomas Montessori School in West Bloomfield last
December.
A traditional education in the United
States relies on public or private schooling
that keeps even our smallest children
as busy as a full-time job would.
This process, however, offers only a
small portion of the knowledge a teenager
has when receiving their diploma.
Learning occurs in all parts of our lives
and throughout the day, not just during
the time we spend in traditional school;
and even then, we learn from our peers
just as much as our teachers.
While the very first Chaldeans
came to Detroit for jobs in the auto
industry, they quickly opened stalls
at farmers markets and eventually
full-blown grocery stores. By sharing
knowledge and educating one another
in this business, Chaldeans were able
to replicate this model many times
over and achieve community success.
Fathers passed on their hard-earned
knowledge to their sons, who took
over and innovated the family store.
CHALDEAN
STORY
At the same time, women passed
around their traditions to one another
and their daughters. As they adjusted
to life in Michigan, Chaldean women
took up various professions and duties
and taught each other new strategies
for going about life. They relied on
one another to raise children and feed
their families and recreate life that resembles
the village, at least as close as
they could in the great urban Detroit of
the early 1900s, while their husbands
and brothers earned a wage.
As soon as the first Chaldean
stepped foot in Detroit, however, the
slow advance of assimilation began.
The traditional roles played by men
and women began to fade and merge,
as did the memories of life in Iraq. The
cultural identity of Chaldeans blended
with that of other American immigrants
and Americans in general; no longer
were they endangered indigenous people,
but a flourishing immigrant community
that grew in power and wealth
with each passing year. As such, Chaldeans
began to enter the professions
via colleges and universities. While
these aspects of society were not entirely
foreign to the community, as they
had similar institutions in Iraq, they
were previously reserved for wealthy
and noble members of society.
The all-important church, which
was the center of village life, was transplanted
to Michigan, but not without
change. For the earliest Chaldeans, the
institution maintained its lofty importance.
In Iraq, the church served as a
gathering place and pillar of the community.
This is where children learned
the customs of the community, how to
act among their peers and elders, as
well as how to participate in its traditions
and religious beliefs through
structured educational courses. In its
early days in America, the church was
essential and served a similar role, but
its importance has since faded and its
role in education has become similar
to other Catholic churches in America.
As a result, to reestablish their
cultural influence and rectify imperfections
in Michigan’s educational
system, the Chaldean Church has
begun to establish its own parallel
educational system. Since the advent
of COVID-19 and the subsequent pandemic,
homeschooling and other nontraditional
learning options became
popular after public schools ceased inperson
instruction. In January of this
year, the Chaldean Church opened its
very own Montessori school, which is
open to children up to 6 years old.
The Montessori method, named after
Italian physician Maria Montessori,
emphasizes each child’s individual and
natural desire for knowledge. It uses an
open style of learning rather than structured
instruction and assignments,
encouraging its students to engage in
activities that interest them. The Montessori
method as used in the St. Thomas
school encourages empathy, social
This report is made possible with generous support from
Michigan Stories, a Michigan Humanities Grants initiative. EDUCATION continued on page 26
24 CHALDEAN NEWS OCTOBER 2023