by ANNE BAKER
News Editor

Greg Mortenson, author of the book “Three Cups of Tea,” wrote, “The first cup of tea, you’re a stranger; the second cup, a friend; and the third cup, you’re family—and for the family, they’re prepared to do anything.”

“Three Cups of Tea,” selected as summer reading material for incoming Appalachian State University freshmen this fall, took on a new meaning for two university faculty members while working towards curriculum reform for the higher education system in Kurdistan.

“I felt like we were having that first cup of tea and eventually that friendship and relationship over time [would continue to grow],” Curriculum & Instruction professor Melanie W. Greene said. “Tea is a very big part of their culture and we were served tea at every meeting we attended.”

Greene, along with Sarah O. Zimmerman, are part of a project that plans to help universities in Kurdistan update their teaching practices.

The university recently received a $231,427 grant from the Minister of Higher Education and the U.S. Department of State, making  it possible to address gaps in the system Kurdish universities are experiencing.

“What [Kurdistan is] hoping to do is to rebuild their country since the days of Saddam Hussein and through all the devastation and destruction that occurred there in the 1990s,” Zimmerman said. “We were able to get acquainted with a lot of the Kurdish people and find out…their needs to rebuild universities [and] rebuild their economy.”

Greene and Zimmerman conducted workshops while in Kurdistan to provide strategies for curriculum implementation, and interacted with approximately 100 Kurdish faculty members within five different universities.

“They wanted their students to be market-ready for the new century,” Zimmerman said. “To make sure they were up to date in their skills, their training and basically their curriculum.”

The project is directed by Jesse Lutabingwa, associate vice chancellor for International Education and Development, Lori Mason, an educational leadership doctoral student and Vachel Miller, education faculty member.

“It’s through our work together that [Kurdistan] expressed their need and tried to articulate the need in a way that is relevant to what they wanted,” Lutabingwa said. “And so then we applied for funding.”

Lutabingwa said Minister of Higher Education Idris Hadi Salih is providing half of the money for the project, and the U.S. Department of State plans to provide the other half.

Greene said one thing she learned while in Kurdistan related to freedom of choice and independence.

“[The United States has] this paradigm of democracy…and identity with each university campus—and there, the government expects uniformity across the campuses and expects all professors of civil engineering in the country to deliver the same curriculum,” she said. “That’s something they would like to have more identity within their institutions.”

Greene also said the Kurdish government decides what school a student will attend, and the major is determined by a test taken during their senior year of high school.

Those with the highest test scores are to pursue courses of study in medicine and civil engineering, she said.

“…My concern is the students who are very gifted with the arts will never have an opportunity to study the humanities because if they are very bright, they are going into other fields,” Greene said. “I imagine that has to have an effect on their motivation.”

Because the Kurdish government pays for students to attend universities, unemployment rates in Kurdistan make it difficult for students to wish to graduate on time.

“If [students] stay in school they are being paid—if they graduate they might not be paid, so there are some problems in the system,” Zimmerman said.

Despite the differences between the higher education systems in the United States and Kurdistan, Zimmerman found many commonalities.

“As professors, we had some of the same concerns about our students,” she said. “How could we help our students learn more; how could we motivate them; how could we teach large classes well.”

Both Greene and Zimmerman enjoyed their time in Kurdistan and felt the Kurdish people were receptive to what they had to say.

“They have so many strengths—so many things that are going on that are really good,” Zimmerman said. “It’s just a matter of improving things [and] making some changes.”

Appalachian is currently hosting two faculty members from Kurdistan in the college of education: Mohammed Hussein Ahmed, head of the English Department at the University of Sulaimani and Fatima Rashid Hasan, head of the English Department at Salahadin University.

“As there are new generations in Iraq, we continue to face many challenges,” Ahmed said. “There are requirements for open-minded citizens who can think critically to rebuild the country [and] there is the need to require the skills and knowledge that is currently not offered in Iraqi universities.”

Ahmed said the Kurdish Minister of Higher Education believes now is the time to start reforming the curriculum.

Hasan hopes they will be able to do what needs to be done when they return to Kurdistan.

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