AR

United World Learning

Mar 13, 2018

AB
Stage· 36 messages
Mar 13, 2018
AR

Abby Rodriguez · 3:26 AM

Hey did y’all know that refugees numbers are at one of the highest points in history?
AB

Alexandra Bonomi · 3:27 AM

Over 65 million displaced people, it's shocking!
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Rania Gadnis · 3:27 AM

The worst part is how demeaning refugees are treated, I mean imagine living in a 20 x 10 feet container with a dirt floor and 8 other people.
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Rania Gadnis · 3:27 AM

Only being allowed a cold bucket to clean yourself twice a week, having no sinks and waiting 7 hours to get simple loaf of bread. Most of your family and friends are dead, you have no place to call home, and now you live surrounded by barbed wire.
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Alexandra Bonomi · 3:28 AM

And that’s their life for the next 17 years, every part of their once normal life is gone, in essence they used to be just like us.
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Abby Rodriguez · 3:29 AM

That's so inhumane. What happens to the the children's education? I mean they are clearly missing normalcy and peer to peer interaction in their life.
AB

Alexandra Bonomi · 3:31 AM

Wait aren't there millions of dollars being spent on aid and relief for refugee camps?
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Rania Gadnis · 3:31 AM

Well yes, however education for refugee children tends to be neglected. With the majority of refugee children not having access to any education.
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Rania Gadnis · 3:31 AM

Even if education programs exist within camps, they tend to be imparted by overworked teachers with very little pay. These children are completely missing that peer-to-peer experience, and proper education within the camps.
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Rania Gadnis · 3:31 AM

In the case of legal refugees coming to the U.S., their integration is focused on adults, and children's education tends to be an afterthought.
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Alexandra Bonomi · 3:31 AM

I can only imagine how hard it must be for them to come to a foreign country like the U.S. where they don't know anyone or the language.
AB

Alexandra Bonomi · 3:31 AM

And then on top of that they have to deal with a majority of the U.S. K-12 population having little understanding of what a refugee is and what they’ve been through.
AB

Alexandra Bonomi · 3:31 AM

Causing them to being vulnerable to stereotypes and are easily discriminated against.
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Rania Gadnis · 3:33 AM

There are clearly two major problems here; lack of peer education available to refugees, and a lack of worldly understanding in the general U.S. K-12 population.
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Abby Rodriguez · 3:34 AM

We clearly need to address this issue with sustainable change through a mutual learning experience.
AB

Alexandra Bonomi · 3:37 AM

I agree, but how can we do that?
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Rania Gadnis · 3:38 AM

Well, Current technologies such as Skype and Whatsapp have an amazing level of adoption and can be leveraged to create a true peer-to-peer experience.
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Abby Rodriguez · 3:38 AM

Yes!!! Let's use the United World Learning platform!
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Alexandra Bonomi · 3:38 AM

Good idea girls! Using the UWL online platform we can have the U.S. students tutor the refugee student.
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Alexandra Bonomi · 3:38 AM

The refugee student can be tutored online for extra help in a class they're currently enrolled in, or be tutored in basic English and math, based off a curriculum that fits them.
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Alexandra Bonomi · 3:38 AM

The peer teacher also has an option of “donating a course”, in which the tutor selects a class they are currently enrolled in, and shares all of their learning materials with their refugee student.
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Rania Gadnis · 3:39 AM

Precisely!!! Because this program not only benefits the refugee students, who will have a chance to better their peer interactions and education. But also benefits the high school tutor in educating them about the world.
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Abby Rodriguez · 3:40 AM

Wow, that peer to peer interaction fosters a unique humanized connection between teens who wouldn’t generally interact, opening the minds of both, and teaching them not to hold biases and false notions about what they don’t know.
AB

Alexandra Bonomi · 3:42 AM

This is great and all, but how are we going execute United World Learning?
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Rania Gadnis · 3:42 AM

I was thinking we just start with our 5 UWL team members and 5 refugee students.
AB

Alexandra Bonomi · 3:43 AM

Yeah, let's start the pilot with identifying the refugees students and their education needs. Then using that, make a curriculum calendar specific to each peer teacher and refugee student pair, which they can easily follow.
RG

Rania Gadnis · 3:43 AM

Right, then let's have weekly skype tutoring sessions, complete with surveys and check ins, so we can make sure to improve the program the best we can. Check out this flow chart I made:
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Rania Gadnis · 3:43 AM

https://cdn.tawkers.com/tawkers-media-tawk-comment-image-ff808181-6202e302-0162-229b4a8d-02ee.png
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Alexandra Bonomi · 3:44 AM

Love it! Let's make sure that each course spans over one school semester to align with the local education needs and guidelines too.
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Abby Rodriguez · 3:45 AM

And at the end we need to make sure the refugee students receive a digital certificate for completion which is extremely valuable and portable. And their peer teacher will receive volunteer hours.
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Alexandra Bonomi · 3:46 AM

After the pilot semester, we can introduce more students and courses.
RG

Rania Gadnis · 3:11 PM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“What a great use of messaging apps! What was the original inspiration for the idea? ”

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Rania Gadnis · 4:18 PM

The inspiration was really reading and hearing about the shocking stories that refugees have to endure.
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Rania Gadnis · 4:19 PM

And thinking there has to be a way to bring some humanity to their education.
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Rania Gadnis · 4:38 PM

Y'all, this platform is really going to connect our younger generation from opposite sides of the globe in a very humane way.
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Rania Gadnis · 4:38 PM

It's going to create sustainable change through a circle of mutual learning, which will create a better educated and more accepting tomorrow.