Clockwise from bottom left : Smanur is all smiles in class ; from left , students Mehlika , Medine , and Betül bond over reading ; teacher Ebru Yılmaz leads a class ; an outdoor reading lesson ; HP IDEA Fellow and teacher Sümeyye Alpay using tech to teach . a 10-year-old fourth grader , answers a reporter ’ s questions with one- or two-word responses . But asked about a good book she ’ s read recently , she can ’ t stop talking about penguins , how they ’ re endangered , and the problems melting icebergs cause for them . “ Maybe you would like to read it ?” she offers . Because students are more eager to talk to teachers , teacher-student relations have improved . Mehlika , 11 , a bubbly fifth grader with clear blue eyes and red hair who arrived at the school last year from Ankara before the earthquake , suggests this is because “ the teachers here are doing something special for us . They are looking after us .”
And the entire program is providing a shared experience , a sense of belonging for everyone . The change has been palpable , Alpay says , particularly with the four students in her classes she affectionately refers to as the school ’ s “ special guests ”— those who arrived after the earthquake .
“ In the beginning they were lonely and sad , because everything was hard to handle ,” Alpay says . “ But with the project they change day by day . They talk more .”
The trauma module , in particular , has helped Alpay facilitate this change .
“ We learn to focus on the positive ,” she says . It ’ s also helped her with her own trauma as well as that of her other students . Although they were miles from the quake , Alpay says everyone was deeply affected by it .
“ You ’ re thinking about [ the victims ],” she says . “ Are they able to eat a good meal ? Are they sleeping in a good place ? What ’ s happening there ?”
Nyla Khan , cofounder of Mirai Partners , a learning consultancy agency , says this is part of why they added the trauma-informed component . “ It ’ s essential to view trauma as a rule rather than the exception ,” she says . “ As someone who experienced complex trauma before the age of six , I know firsthand the lifelong impact it can have . It ’ s both disheartening and motivating to realize that so much pain and suffering could be alleviated if educational systems were better equipped to understand and address trauma .”
As more children finish reading their books and move on to the next one , soon seedlings will be planted in the school ’ s garden and saplings in a nearby grove . When the garden project begins , Alpay thinks it will also be good for students ’ mental health and maybe their academics to spend more time in nature , away from their screens . The students , for their part , like to talk with Alpay about their options for planting : Strawberries ? Apples ? Potatoes ? Maybe tomatoes because they ’ re easy to grow ? Students will also be able to bring the fruits and vegetables of their labor to friends .
For Mehlika , being rewarded with planting a tree or seedling every time she finishes a volume will be an extra benefit beyond the knowledge that comes from reading . The fruit , she says , “ is like another present coming from a book .”
HP / INNOVATION / SUMMER 2023 19