Education Here & There

The black-and-white photo of the students from Blessed Sacrament in Detroit is difficult to distinguish from the Iraqi student photos. In the 1970s in Iraq, education became free and public at all levels, and mandatory for primary school students. The Baathist-led government saw primary and secondary schools as a vehicle to promote its nationalist beliefs. The curriculum included Islamic teachings, as well as Christian, Assyrian, and Chaldean tenets. In the northern regions of Iraq, Kurdish and Turkmen were also taught.

Classroom of boys in Telkeppe, provided by Fr. Bazzi;

Chaldean 1st Communion students at Blessed Sacrament School in Detroit, circa 1947;

Archival photo of a school classroom of boys and girls at a Catholic school in Iraq, date unknown; Elementary classroom in Iraq, date unknown; Betty Dawisha teaching in a classroom in 1999 at Lessenger School in the Lamphere School District in Madison Heights, Michigan.

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The Chaldean Cultural Center and Museum owns a collection of captivating images from our vibrant community that we are delighted to share with the Chaldean News. If you have photographs that you would like us to incorporate into our archive, kindly reach out to us at info@chaldeanculturalcenter.org or call 248-681-5050.