Government Policy: Community Programs and Kid Basics

government policy: A study underway at Western University is examining how the war-torn experiences of newly arrived young Syrian refugees might affect their ability to cope in the classroom, and researcher Mazen El-Baba hopes the findings will go a long way towards improving everything from teachers' lesson plans to community programs to government policy, according to CTV. He says many new arrivals have not been to school in years and will almost definitely struggle in September. "My fears are of the teacher not being able to understand where to begin," El-Baba says of what sparked the study, still in its data-gathering phase. "It different than teaching another kid the basics because you're dealing with more mature children who are well aware that their level is way behind their actual class. For those shattered by early psychological trauma, it can be especially fraught with emotion. There a lot of difficulties. Then there bullying, which he calls "a huge, huge problem" given the experiences of some Syrian kids who ventured into Canadian classrooms this past spring. "All the kids we know that went to school, all the parents were telling us: 'We need help in September because our kids are being beaten up and spit at at school.' I know a six-year-old who was being hit by various other in his class." The study involves 81 children and a battery of tests conducted in English and Arabic. I really, really hope the school boards are prepared for it." He points to a nine-year-old he knows who will enter Grade 5 despite not knowing what plus and minus are, and a 16-year-old who will enter Grade 10 despite only having a Grade 5 education. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.