In light of the recent travel ban implemented via executive order under the current presidential administration, targeting primarily Muslim countries, I have been reflecting on the importance of educating myself on the unique struggles on refugee populations in order to be a better advocate. I have grown up and live in an immigrant community, and have been caught up in immigrant rights work for nearly a decade now, but as a future ESL teacher who will undoubtedly work with refugee students at some point, it is critical that I become more knowledgeable about the differences, similarities, and intricacies of their cultures. During my time as a youth organizer, I worked very closely with South Division High School, Wisconsin's largest bilingual school, where dozens of languages are spoken by students. Many are from various Asian and African countries, and while many were incredibly interested in getting involved in immigrant rights work, I struggled to connect with them linguistically and culturally which inevitably caused a rift in their ability to be involved. There are more refugees in the world today than at any other point in history, and the majority of those refugees are children. This fact is devastating. Our schools must be a safe haven for refugee children and their families in spite of the hateful political rhetoric that is elevated in the country today. These children will rely on their public school teachers to provide them with the education that they were unable to receive in their home countries.
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| UNHCR: Global Trends in 2015 |
I am aware that Milwaukee Public Schools has Newcomer Programs in place to support refugee and immigrant students who are English Language Learners. Support is also provided for teachers who will be working with the newcomer students through these programs, but I do not know what that support looks like. In my own experience I have met mostly Burmese and Somali refugee students, but surely there are many more from other countries. I would like to find resources that allow me to represent students' diverse cultures in lessons. This would also pave a path towards helping students realize the intersectionality of their experiences as immigrants, children of immigrants, and refugees in the ESL community. One topic I am also interested in learning more about is how post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by refugee youth affects academic performance, and how to take precautions to not trigger a student’s trauma.
List of relevant resources for further research:
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| From I See The Sun in Myanmar (Burma) by Dedie King & Judith Inglese |
List of relevant resources for further research:
1. MPS International Newcomer Center: http://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/Programs/International-Newcomer-Center.htm
2. Educating Somali Students in Kansas by Emporia State University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lne63CyiGw4
3. Educating Burmese Students in Kansas by Emporia State University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ-0oztWgwY
4. How to Support Refugee Students in the ELL Classroom from Colorin Colorado:: http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/how-support-refugee-students-ell-classroom
Hi Francisca, what a great topic to discuss for the classroom. I also did not know a lot about the MPS newcomer program, so I appreciate that you put that link on your blog. This seems like it may be a program that you could work closely with, especially being in the ESL field. I also like that the program reaches children in grades 5-9, during their first year in MPS. I agree that learning more about the impact this has on students with PTSD in the classroom and what we as instructors can do to help. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAs much as our current political landscape is worrisome at best, I do appreciate your effort to make your blog topical. I also like how you illustrated just HOW important this line of work will be and how we can and should be sheltering children who may feel isolated, or disenfranchised after immigrating to the US.
ReplyDeleteAs a white male who only speaks English, this is something I think about in my own future teaching career. How can I enrich and positively affect students whom have vastly different cultures or native languages without immediately necessarily knowing them?
Your post really hit home for me because I am a child of two immigrants (now naturalized US citizens). My mother came to America, not knowing a lick of English, because she wanted her children to have a better future. I absolutely agree that our schools need to be a sanctuary for children, and in general, refugees should always be welcomed. As future educators, our voice and teaching pedagogy are more important than ever. That being said, I think it's wonderful that you're trying to incorporate your students' cultural backgrounds into your lessons, as well as trying to further understand post-traumatic stress disorders. I'm excited to read more about your journey!
ReplyDeleteThis topic is both timely but also rich in its potential to connect across disciplines (which could work very well depending on what type of ESL instruction you plan to be part of). You might gather fictional historical texts (immigrant experience narratives), political texts (immigration law and policy), psychology texts (trauma informed care).
ReplyDeleteThis is truly a rich topic!