[il-talk] O/T Article about my mom

[Edwin Rodriguez]

Happy mothers day to your mom and all moms in the Arab world.
I think this article was vary appropriate for this list.
It gives us another example of how important parent support and education is 
to someone growing up blind.
Nice going.
Edwin
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <AZNOR99 at aol.com>
To: <iabs-talk at nfbnet.org>; <il-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 10:46 AM
Subject: [il-talk] O/T Article about my mom


I know this is off-topic, so I apologize if I'm offending anyone by posting
this here.  The Southtown Star did an article about my mom, which appeared
today.  Today is Mother's Day in the Arab World, so I wanted to share  this.


_http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1488124,032209educators.article_
(http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1488124,032209educators.article)





'Yes you are going to school today'
Burbank grandma with an eighth-grade education drives,  inspires family to
succeed



_Recommend (2) _
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_Comments_
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March 22, 2009

BY _DUAA  ELDEIB_ (mailto:deldeib at southtownstar.com)  Staff Writer
Amneh Othman has earned eight bachelor's degrees, six master's degrees and
one law degree.
And she never even made it to ninth grade.

» _Click  to enlarge image_
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Amnah Othman (front-center) with her children: Stagg dean  Abir Othman
(front-left); Richards social studies teacher Rahaf Othman  (front-right); 
St.
Xavier director of university computation Rola Othman  (back-left; Andrew 
High
School automotive technology director Abe Othman  (back-middle); and Reavis
chemistry teacher Lina Zayed (back-right). Amnah  Othman is pursuing her GED 
at
Moraine Valley Community College.
(Jason Han/SouthtownStar)
The Othmans

Lina Zayed
chemistry teacher at Reavis High School in  Burbank
School: St. Xavier University
Degree: Bachelor of  Science in chemistry
Graduation year: 1995
School: Governors  State University
Degree: Bachelor of Science in chemistry  education
Graduation year: 2000
School: Governors State  University
Degree: Master of science in analytical  chemistry
Graduation year: 2002
Rahaf Othman
Social studies teacher at Richards High School in Oak  Lawn
School: St. Xavier University
Degree: Bachelor of arts  in history with minors in English and secondary
education
Graduation  year: 1999
School: St. Xavier University
Degree: Master  of arts in education
Graduation year: 2004
Also earned her English  as a second language endorsement in 2006
Rola Othman
Director of University Computing at St. Xavier  University
School: St. Xavier University
Degree: Bachelor of  Arts in criminal justice, minor in psychology with a
specialization in  counseling
Graduation year: 1994
School: St. Xavier  University
Degree: Master of science in applied computer  science
Graduation year: 2003
School: St. Xavier  University
Degree: Master of Business Administration
Graduation  year: 2003
Abe Othman
Automotive technology teacher at Andrew High  School
School: Chicago State University
Degree: Bachelor of  science in career and technical education
Graduation year: 2006
He  also earned an automotive technology certificate and is currently 
working
on a  master of arts at Governors State University
Abir Othman
Head dean at Stagg High School in Palos  Hills
School: Governors State University
Degree: Bachelor of  arts in English and minor in secondary education
Graduation year:  1996
School: Governors State University
Degree: Master of  arts in education administration
Graduation year: 2002
Ronza Othman
Policy adviser with the Department of Homeland  Security Office for Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties in Washington,  D.C.
School: St. Xavier University
Degree: Bachelor of arts  in philosophy
Graduation year: 2003
School: St. Xavier  University
Degree: Bachelor of science in biological and natural  sciences with a minor
in psychology
Graduation year:  2003
School: DePaul University
Degree: Master of science in  public services management
Graduation year: 2006
School:  DePaul University College of Law
Degree: Juris doctor
Graduation  year: 2006
Zayed Othman
Entrepreneur
School: Robert Morris  College
Degree: Associate degree
Graduation year:  1991
Without her reverence for education, fierce drive and
yes-you-are-going-to-school-today attitude, her seven children could not 
have  accomplished their
academic feats.
They believe she deserves the credit.
Five of Othman's children are educators in the Southland. Some of them
pursued the field precisely because of their mother's love for it. Others
reluctantly decided on it after they failed to find contentment in careers 
that
didn't revolve around schooling, students and service. All of them recognize 
her
undeniable role.
Now it's Amneh's turn to be the student. The 58-year-old grandmother has
enrolled in community college to earn a diploma that bears her own name.
Her children couldn't be more proud.
"She was our inspiration," said Abir Othman, the head dean at Stagg High
School in Palos Hills. "She would set the tone."
When they were young, the seven kids would come home to their two-bedroom
Burbank apartment about 3 p.m. By 3:30, a hearty, home-cooked meal would be 
on
the table. After the last bite of grape leaves was devoured, everyone was
expected to do their homework.
"You couldn't say I didn't have anything. You found something," Abir Othman
said. "You read a book."
Amneh, who still lives in Burbank, willed her kids to succeed. When she 
first
 immigrated to this country from Palestine, her English was limited. She'd
pay  neighborhood kids and students in her oldest daughter Lina's class a 
dollar
to  tutor her children in science and reading. When Abir was in first grade,
Amneh  requested two copies of homework - one for her daughter and one for
her.
"I wanted to learn, too," Amneh said.
She didn't allow her kids to clear the table or do the dishes during the
week. Chores were only on the weekends, when schoolwork wasn't the priority.
Not that they didn't have to go to school on the weekends, because they did.
Amneh, known in the Arab community as Om Zayed, would load the kids up and
drive  them to the local mosque for Sunday school. When six days of reading 
and
writing  got to be too much for her oldest son, Zayed Othman, he 
disconnected
the starter  on her car.
"You know what I did?" Amneh boasted. "I called a taxi cab."
American opportunity
The Othmans' story is as much about education as it is about living the
American dream. The family immigrated to New York in 1981. When their store 
was
robbed three months later, they picked up whatever they had left, and five
kids,  a nine-months-pregnant Amneh, Dad Mahmoud Othman, and five other 
family
members  piled into a two-door Cadillac and drove for two days before 
reaching
Chicago.
After settling in, Amneh enrolled in English classes in preparation for her
citizenship test.
"I passed on the first time," she said, beaming.
In the meantime, Mahmoud toiled away at the grocery store he managed in
Chicago's Englewood community as a means for the behind-the-scenes dad to 
provide
financially for his large family.
"That store would strangle the life out of you," said son Abe Othman, 25, of
Oak Lawn. "It's not what I wanted to do."
Amneh made sure her kids saw what it was like to labor every day from 7 a.m.
to midnight.
"She'd tell us 'You have this opportunity (for an education). You can't let
it pass you by. In America, you're getting this chance,'" Abir said. "She 
used
 to say, 'You can be anything you want to be. You have no excuse.'"
"All the time, I told my kids I want them to be educated," said Amneh, whose
mother pulled her out of school at the age of 13 to help take care of her
younger siblings. Later in life, Amneh would regret not having the same
educational opportunities that allowed her brothers and sisters to become 
doctors,
engineers, bankers, and yes, even teachers.
In Amneh's house, Abe knew even his standing as the baby of the family
couldn't get him out of completing an education.
"It wasn't if you were going to college. It was what college you were going
to," said Abe, who changed gears from pursuing a career in law enforcement 
to
his current job as an applied technology teacher at Andrew High School in
Tinley  Park.
Graduation junkie
When other kids her age were playing house or dress-up, Abir was playing
school. When the time came to trade in pretend assignments for real ones, 
Abir
took the no-frills approach to education, finishing her bachelor's in three
years. She was pregnant with her third child when she was earning her 
master's.
She recalls telling her mom she was having second thoughts about juggling 
the
 kids, work and school.
"I'm tired," Abir said. "I think I'm going to stay home."
"And do what?" Amneh replied.
Abir went into labor - as in having unbearable, scream-at-the-top-your-lungs
contractions - right before she turned in her last assignment for the
semester.
Her husband told her they needed to head to the hospital.
She looked at him, then plainly said, "I have to finish my paper first."
A bit clueless, never having been in that position before, he paused, then
continued rubbing her back.
He shouldn't have been surprised, seeing that this was coming from Abir. She
was, after all, the same woman who a few years earlier wouldn't move when a
graduation announcer failed to mention her high honors.
After a few moments of awkward silence, she nudged to the announcer.
"My mom is in the audience. You forgot to mention my honors," Abir recalled.
"I wasn't going anywhere because this is what she lives for."
Amneh has become a bit of a graduation junkie, getting a rush watching the
seekers of knowledge fulfill their quests.
"I like to sit in the first row and put on my glasses," she said.
She thumbs through the programs, making a mental note of which students
graduated with what honors or are members of which honors organizations.
Feeling the pressure from grandma, Lina Zayed's 13-year-old daughter
proclaimed if she didn't earn some kind of honors chord, medal or ribbon by 
the  time
she graduates, she'll rent one.
'Grandma has school too'
Amneh may be able to earn her own honors distinction next year, which is 
when
 she's scheduled to finish her GED high school equivalency diploma.
After decades of supporting her kids' education, she finally decided to go
back for her own.
"Martin Luther King had a dream, and Mom had a dream of finishing school,"
Abir said.
For the past two years at Moraine Valley Community College, Amneh's taken
pre-GED classes, and she recently started actual classes toward her degree.
"She put her education on hold to help everyone else," said 30-year-old 
Rahaf
 Othman, who lives in Orland Hills and teaches social studies at Richards
High  School in Oak Lawn.
Now that all of her kids have degrees, her next project is the 
grandchildren.
 She drops them off at school in the morning before heading to her classes.
"The kids say, 'Grandma has school, too. We can't be late. She'll yell at
us,'" said 38-year-old Zayed, a chemistry teacher at Reavis High School in
Burbank.
'I love my job'
In 2002, Zayed finally concluded her educational journey with two bachelor's
degrees and a master's degree.
"I was relieved," said Zayed, who lives in Burbank. "I thought, I have my
education. My job is set. My family is set."
Three months later, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After her
treatment, she couldn't speak above a whisper.
But her mother didn't raise her to give up. The school set up a speaker
system in her classroom that would allow her to speak through the microphone
attached to the headset she wore around her face.
"I love my job," Zayed said. "I love my students. I love going to work every
day."
A year later, in May of 2003, she started feeling sick during a field trip
with her students. Her mind raced to the worst possible scenario - the 
cancer
was back.
After some blood work, she was floored when she heard the results. She was
pregnant.
"They told me I couldn't have any more kids," Zayed said. "To me, he was my
second chance. He's my miracle baby."
A passion for education
Freshmen at St. Xavier University see Rola Othman's dark eyes and bright
smile, and ask her if she knows Mrs. Othman.
"I have to ask them which one," said 35-year-old Rola, who is the director 
of
 university computing at St. Xavier in Chicago's Mount Greenwood community.
There  she works with about 30 student interns, teaching them computer and 
life
skills.
"I tell them you don't have to have all the answers, you just have to know
where to look," Rola said.
Amneh often looks to newspapers.
"I love to read the newspaper," she said. "Even some words I don't know, but
the word after explains it. And if I still don't know, I ask. I'm not afraid
to  ask."
Forging ahead at all costs is a lesson she taught her children.
"If you want to get your education, you persevere," Rahaf said.
Even with scholarships and financial aid, the siblings are still paying off
student loans.
When one student who was giving Abe a hard time in class started turning his
life around, he thanked Abe in his own way.
"He said, 'Mr. Othman, you're a superhero, and I'm your sidekick,'" Abe 
said.

Zayed Othman and Ronza Othman are the only two children who didn't pursue
careers in education.
"Know that I'm really proud to be your sister, even though I strayed off the
path of nobility and went and became a lawyer," Ronza, 27, wrote her brother
and  sisters in a recent e-mail.
Ronza, who is blind, is currently a policy advisor with the Department of
Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Washington,
D.C.
"My mom was a huge advocate and supporter of me, whatever I wanted to do, as
long as it was ambitious ..." she said. "My mother is the reason I pushed
myself  so hard and refused to be limited by my blindness."
As for brother Zayed Othman, a Burbank entrepreneur, his education ended 
with
 an associate degree.
"I think I broke my mom's heart by not getting a full degree," the
38-year-old said. "It was the biggest mistake I ever made."
After 18 years, he's going back to school this summer to earn a bachelor's 
in
 business administration. Not surprisingly, he thanks Amneh.
"It's my mom," he said. "She pushed all of us all of the time. She believes
in education so much."
Somewhere along the way, she imparted that love to her children.
"It's your passion. It's your craft. It's your calling," Abir said.
And it's Amneh's dream.
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