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 <strong>OCTOBER</strong> <strong>2023</strong>
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