Sabbatical in Mideast country Qatar called enriching and informative.

GLEN LAKE teacher Carla Gipson wears
an abaya, a long robe that women wear
in many Muslim nations, including Qatar.

Carla Gipson's middle school students are learning much more than English during their class time.

Gipson returned to Glen Lake this school year after a 2-year sabbatical in the Mideast country of Qatar and was granted another leave to pursue a second tour of duty last month.

“I’ve always been interested in meeting international people. When I was a kid, my parents rented a room to a friend of my uncle … a Chinese guy who went to U of M (University of Michigan),” said Gipson, who was a longtime summer resident in Beulah before taking a position with Glen Lake. “When I lived in Beulah, my ex-husband and I hosted a Russian exchange student who went to Benzie Central.”

Gipson was among those responsible for starting the cultural student exchange program between Glen Lake and a school in Havixbeck, Germany.

“I went over there (Germany) and wanted to go abroad again,” said Gipson, who became interested in teaching abroad after speaking with a couple who had returned to the states after a stint in Malaysia. “That piqued my interest. Then I began flirting with the idea.”

World events of Sept. 11, 2001, affected her search for a position in education.

“It (9/11) changed everybody. People began to think of terrorist and Arabs as one in the same,” she explained. “I wanted to believe there is good in this world. I wanted to go and meet Arabic people to see that it wasn’t true … to think that they want to blow people up.”

Gipson participated in a work fair out East and met a man who was charged with starting a school for the royal family in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After some civil unrest, plans for the royal school were scrubbed and Gipson secured a position in Doha, Qatar.

“For the first time in my adult life, I didn’t have to work,” said Gipson, whose ex-husband was working at the American School of Doha.

She did some substitute teaching and eventually secured positions tutoring Qatari children.

“I found them to be a very generous and loving people,” Gipson said of the family of a young boy she tutored. “We were invited to their home for dinner. We sat on the floor and ate with our hands. They wanted to pay me more, but I told them I’d rather learn more about their culture and religion … their views on life.”

A constitutional monarchy, Qatar is ruled by Skeikh Hamad, who deposed his father in a bloodless coup to become emir in 1995.

Since then he has introduced some liberal reforms and Sheikh Moza, one of his many wives, has become a leading voice for increased female participation in public life and education. She is head of the Qatar Foundation, which supports educational and humanitarian causes, and has been a major proponent in increasing educational opportunities for all Qatari ­—­ including women.

“She’s the only one of his wives that’s not his cousin,” Gipson said. “It’s a tribal culture and part of that is taking care of you own.”

Sheikh Moza is working to modernize the schools, encouraging the development of a series international baccalaureate schools, moving toward a more western approach of teaching.

“School is taught like what we had here 70 years ago. A lot of memorization,” the teacher explained. “They’re putting money into infrastructure and have more access to tools (such as interactive whiteboards). They’re also moving away from corporal punishment. I heard stories about the use of camel whips on students.”

Gipson developed the math and science curriculum for the baccalaureate schools.

Unlike most classrooms in the United States, students are divided by sex. From puberty onward, girls wear an abaya, a long robe that covers their body from the ankles to wrists. Their heads and faces are also covered.

“They think of women as diamonds. They’re pure and they want to protect the diamond and don’t want them looked at lecherously,” Gipson said.

Men and women are segregated to the extent that they are even separated at social functions. Gipson attended the wedding reception of a friend in which men and women invitees were in separate rooms celebrating.

“Once they get home, they take the abayas off,” she explained. “They talk about their lives … even sex. Women develop a close bond with one another.”

Gipson got to know the women beneath the veils and grew to know and appreciate the Islamic faith.

“Most people like Americans and are friendly,” she said. “I never felt unsafe in my time there.”

The sticking point for many of those she spoke with is American support of Israel.

“The Palestinians have lost their homes. They’re displaced, powerless and impoverished,” Gipson explained. “It’s those who have been involved in or witnessed violence who end up being terrorists … People are people all over the world. We need to celebrate their differences rather than just tolerating them. Even though they have different beliefs, there are positive things we can learn from them.”