Positive Stories in the Classroom

By Mohammad Almasri

In fall 2020, I taught a course on Arabic media and politics for students in their senior year in the Arabic program at OU. In this course, we usually discuss selections from Arabic media: online newspapers, videos, interviews, social media activities, etc. The goal is to survey and discuss what makes it to news in some Arabic-speaking countries. One of the selections last fall focused on the impact of the pandemic on grandmothers in Jordan. The article describes the changes imposed as a result of the pandemic and provides some interviews with a few grandmothers. It provides different aspects of how the pandemic changed peoples’ lives.

The grandmothers interviewed in the newspaper article discussed risks and opportunities associated with the pandemic. Coronavirus forced them to restrict their social activities, provide a higher level of sanitization, limit their social gatherings, avoid direct contact with strangers and limit their shopping activities. And because most nurseries shut their doors at the start of the pandemic, they also had to begin caring for their grandchildren while their daughters or sons went to work. Suddenly, grandmothers were back in the role of mother, taking care of the children, preparing them for online school meetings, preparing their food, taking them to the mosques for religious services (before mosques were shut down), and generally meeting their needs.

The interesting part for my students was that grandmothers were mostly happy with this change, despite its apparent inconvenience. It presented them with a challenge but also with an opportunity to connect with the kids and their busy parents. One of the grandmothers stated in the article that she won’t send her grandchildren to nurseries, even if they reopen. The reason, she explained, is that her daughter had taken care of her, not sending her to a senior home (where older adults do not really prefer to spend their lives), and the grandmother saw this child care as providing a favor in return. The different interviews gave examples of how people are creating their own networks to support each other when the government is unable to provide sufficient care during the pandemic.

The article and the interviews gave the students a positive take: not everything about the pandemic is actually bad. Some people have had to make adjustments that eventually changed their lives in a positive manner. Bringing a story like this into the classroom gave students the opportunity not only to learn about Arabic media and culture, but also to consider a fresh perspective on the pandemic's impact.

Mohammad Almasri is ConocoPhilips Associate Professor of Arabic Language, Literature and Culture in the Department of International & Area Studies.