MISSOULA — Missoula County High School Arabic teacher Brendan Work is this week’s winner of a Republic Services and KPAX-TV One Class at a Time Grant.
Work is taking a trip to the country of Oman in March, and will use the money to purchase clothing, musical instruments, old currency, and other items that he can use as a teaching tool in the classroom.
KPAX-TV General Manager Bob Hermes presented Work with a $250 check.
Work’s students begin the year by learning the alphabet, and Arabic language, and eventually begin to immerse themselves into the history of the Middle East.
He said his students do a wonderful job soaking in the Middle Eastern culture.
“The main goal is to bring people together. I want my students to experience the joy of using the language that they’ve learned in authentic context like with a Syrian refugee family, with someone in Iraq or Palestine, I just want them to be able to use Arabic with someone in a way that matters.," Work explained.