HURIYO MUHUDIN, MADINA HUSSEIN, AND FADUMO IBRAHIM

Culture Exchange Somalia

Objectives

Learn about the school and home culture of Somalia

Discuss the experience of families living in the US as immigrants

Learn about the experience of an EL StudentDiscuss what we can do to better serve our

EL and NELB Families.

Basic Information

Northern Somalia British is largely desert, more business oriented

Southern Somalia Italian colonies, more farm oriented

Very little infrastructure since 1988, when Civil War in Somalia began.

Right now, there is no highway system, no public schools, new Government is trying to make things better

Geography and Population

Bantu tribe is from the South, and has a history of being mistreated

Family Structure

Family is very important, and extended families stick together. They live very close to each other, and often in the same home.

Once women are married, they usually move out to start their own home, but men stay in the family home even after marriage.

In most situations, the men work and the women raise the children and take care of the home. In wealthier families, the women may work and the family will hire a nanny/maid, or rely on family members to help with the children.

General School Information

Attendance is not mandatoryOnly big cities had public schools (now there

are no public schools)Six hours a day (7 AM – 1 PM)No KindergartenStudents sometimes start at different ages,

but they always start as 1st graders 40 students in one class Structured as Elementary, Middle, and High

School (4 years each)

General School Information

No transportationNo school lunch, but you can buy snacksNo libraries in schools, but the cities have

public librariesThey give you textbooks, but they stay at

school.Very teacher centered. Students sit and

teachers talk.Students stay in their own class, and the

teacher rotates to the different classes

School Information

Responsibility of the school to discipline the child.

No homework is ever given in Somalia.Only involved in school when situations are

very serious.

Special Education/Student Services

Any student with any type of special need or learning delay does not attend school

Report cards issued twice a yearStudents are retained if they fail a class—it

doesn’t matter how old they are.

Cultural Differences

Communication—people sometimes communicate very loudly because in Somalia people just yell at their neighbors for different things

People from the North are scared of water and thunderstorms