My students need an Arabic dance performance at our school to accompany their percussion performance!
$872 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My students are Arabic 1 and Arabic 2 students at a neighborhood Chicago public high school. Their ethnicities are Puerto Rican, Mexican, African-American, and Eastern European; the school serves a diverse population. These students have chosen to learn a new and difficult language, Arabic. There is a growing Arab population in the neighborhood surrounding the school and in the school community. My students are finding Arabic useful in their after-school employment and enjoying learning the about Arab culture. They’re finding connections between Arab culture and their own backgrounds.
This winter, my 6th period Arabic 2 class had the amazing opportunity to learn how to play the darbouka (a type of Arabic drum).
While nervous, they are eager to share their new skills with the other Arabic classes and perform for the whole school.
My Project
This project will provide funding for a school-wide assembly at Steinmetz College Prep.
The "Darbouka and Debka" assembly has two goals.
The first goal is to create a platform for my 6th period Arabic 2 class to perform a drum piece for the school. My students have been learning Arabic rhythms on the darbouka, the frame drum, and the riq (tambourine). The drum piece my students prepared is rich and complex, with six different Arabic rhythms. While my students are scheduled to perform at Chicago Public Schools Arabic Culture Day for a field trip, they deserve a chance to perform at their own school.
The second goal for the “Darbouka and Debka” assembly is to create a stronger sense of belonging to the growing number of Arabic-speaking students at our school. In the past, these students were often singled out by their peers for being different. While this has improved, there is still more to be done. I learned from Aseel, a Steinmetz senior and Palestinian-American, that she and her friends were hoping to bring a debka dance performance to our school. Debka is a cultural line dance common in Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria. A debka dance performance is a perfect match for our darbouka drum performance.
Our planned school-wide assembly will be a showcase of Arabic music and dance. We have found a debka group, Firkat Al Watan (also known as Alasayil Band) to perform for the school. The assembly will include my students’ darbouka drum performance, three debka dance pieces, and a poetry reading.
This project will give the diverse population of students at our school new exposure to Arabic culture and music. Additionally, it will give our Arabic-speaking students a stronger sense of welcome and belonging in the school community.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. G. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
