This week I have been involved in discussion about the Syrian refugee crisis and what role education will play for refugees, both now and in their future.

The future of many refugees is uncertain, to say the least. But, it is important to remember as educators to avoid presuming that because someone is a refugee it means they are uneducated.

There are many types of education, both formal and informal. As a refugee, reliable and regular access to formal education may certainly be interrupted (or in some cases, non-existent). However, it is also possible that many of the people being displaced are in fact educated professionals – teachers, accountants, medical professionals, and so on.

Although an “everyday teacher’s” direct contact with educating refugees may be remote in many settings around the world, it will be a teacher’s job somewhere to welcome, support and educate a refugee student when they join their class and school. And it is for those teachers that I post this reminder, even though this applies to everyone you will come in contact with as an educator.

 Image 1 (2014)

Happy teaching!

 

References

Image 1 (2014). Retrieved from http://hollymueller.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/digilit-sunday-online-collaboration.html