Non-formal education in the Middle East: Giving adolescents a second chance

The trial took place that same day. The jury found Humam guilty; the judge sentenced him to apologize to Ayman and granted Ayman the right to hit Humam back but reminded him that he also had the option to forgive Humam. As Ayman moved to hit Humam, the other students circled around. “I could feel the power of friends who cared about both of us,” Ayman said. “Then something changed inside me. I no longer wanted to hit him.”

It has been nearly six years since that trial and, today, both young men say it was the most important thing that ever happened to them. The teaching facilitators observed how well the students responded to learning through action and dialogue, and how much it bolstered their critical thinking. One said, “We saw these youth emerge as new people in this new kind of learning environment.”

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