Shawnee Mission South celebrates 30 years of teaching Arabic language and culture

Shawnee Mission South High School is home to one of the country's oldest high school Arabic programs.
Every Friday, nearly a dozen students sit in chairs circled around their classroom — no desks in sight — at Shawnee Mission South High School, watching a series of Arabic music videos.

At the end of every week, each of the high school’s Arabic language classes pick a music video and compete over who chose the best one. It’s not how most classes look — or sound — at the end of the week, but teacher Annie Hasan said it's a way to break down barriers and get students talking.

“It's not taught in a very traditional Arab way or American way,” Hasan said. “We sit in a circle and they're up and moving, constantly talking. We play a lot of games and there's a lot of interaction.”

As the child of a Palestinian father and an American mother, Hasan said teaching Arabic is a way for her to create a bridge between the two cultures and help them understand each other better.