POTSDAM, Germany (AP) – A German university has launched a program aimed at enabling teachers who fled Syria and other countries to return to the classroom, potentially helping them serve as bridge-builders between German schools and last year’s many new arrivals.
The project at the University of Potsdam, just outside Berlin, started this week as Germany increasingly focuses on integrating what will likely be hundreds of thousands of people into society and the work force.
On Thursday, the first, all-Syrian group of refugees grappled with the intricacies of German time-telling and days of the week at the modern university campus on the city’s outskirts.
The 11-month course to familiarize them with the language and Germany’s education system starts with several months of intensive German courses. From September onward, they will take part in regular teacher training and learn about teaching in Germany, ending with practice at a school.
“I was very happy that there is a course specifically for refugees who are teachers – that’s what I want,” said Alaa Kassab, a 23-year-old from Aleppo, who taught English and other subjects to young children in Syria. “I wanted something to help me figure out how I will be a teacher here in a Germany.”