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As an educator, you might not be familiar with all the implications of how it is to be an immigrant student in the US. If your community has been exposed to newcomers and public institutions have already started to implement ESOL classes and other programs to accommodate and help integrate foreign families and their children, you have obviously noticed the language barrier as one of the main problems.
Well, for some families the struggle is a little bit more complicated when the immigration legal process goes wrong and young students in the K-12 grades lose their legal status and become undocumented.
How is it to be an immigrant student?
The Language Challenge
Students who have recently moved to the US don’t understand the language and it is hard to keep up with a class that is conducted only in English. A student who used to speak up in class a lot in their home country and enjoy oral presentations in class, group projects, and reading out-loud; suddenly becomes shy and insecure, fears to be judged by his poor English accent, and feels he/she does not have a sophisticated vocabulary. All these factors may have a strong psychological effect on the student and his interaction in the classroom. Some schools do not allow students to speak any other language that’s not English in class, which makes it difficult for the student to learn in some situations.
ESOL classes
These classes can provide a space for students to learn and adjust without the pressures experienced in regular classes because it is a program that was designed around the particular needs of immigrant students. However, while ESOL classes are a great way to help the transition and adjustment process of students in the US school system, different factors can contribute to the student getting stuck in that comfort zone, making the program ineffective. ESOL teachers’ role is key to the success of ESOL programs and advancement of immigrant students: teachers should not see themselves only as educators, but more as having a parental role or a role that is more well-rounded and not just constrained to teaching language skills. ESOL teachers can be key to connecting students to higher education opportunities, and getting their families involved in the process. ESOL teachers should not rely solely on school career counselors, many of whom students see a couple times a year and not on a daily basis, to do this work.
The US education system
A lack of support groups in US schools contributes to students’ isolation and may keep them from realizing their full potential. Many immigrant students might have a hard time relying on their peers or classmates, and that could be crucial to their success in school. In the US, students experience a more independent or individualistic classroom dynamic from an early age or Middle School: they change classrooms and have different classmates and, in a way, the school experience becomes more impersonal and focused on the student’s own personal advancement rather than on the belief that individual advancement depends on the advancement of the group. At SIM we believe that people have a richer learning experience and achieve more goals through working in teams.
The Family
Immigrant families are, for the most part, low-income once they move to the US. Parents who were professionals in their home countries, now face economic hardship and work two or three jobs that pay minimum wage. Immigrant students are well aware of the economic situation in the house. They grow up listening to their parents say “we can’t afford this, we can’t afford that” and often do not consider higher education an option available to them because of its cost. Immigrant students are not familiar with financial aid applications or scholarships, etc. An undocumented immigrant student might know that the system does not allow him to go to college even if he has the best grades; which might discourage him to reach higher and do poorly in school, or continue to do well in school without considering going to college.
Moral support
Schools and teachers are the main connection that immigrant students have to the US system. Immigrant parents want their children to succeed and have better opportunities in the US, but they do not always know what is the best way to be supportive. They do not know the system well enough and do not have time to be with their children because of their jobs. Not knowing the language also keeps parents from doing some of their parental duties in the US and there’s an inversion of the roles when parents need their children to translate for them. In addition, parents’ concerns about the income of the family might prioritize the need to work here and now, instead of building a future through a career that they cannot even dream of paying. Students have their own dreams, but feel a stronger obligation to their families who also, without meaning any harm, might place too much pressure and the harshness of reality on their children’s shoulders.
How can you change the life of your immigrant student?
The first step is to understand that educators are a fundamental part of the support system for immigrant students, and their impact will be more well-rounded when they incorporate themselves to a larger support system that includes organizations like SIM, parents, and friends. Getting directly involved with SIM or opening new channels of communication with our organization will give you a better insight of your impact on students, as well as inform you of better ways to contribute and set your student for success. Our main goal in the process of helping immigrant students is to make educators understand the importance of becoming an active component of the support system of students.
The Role of Educators
- Motivate students and emphasize the importance of pursuing higher education.
- Engage them in school and community activities.
- Empower them to take responsibility for their own future, and assist them in the process as much as you can.
- Establish a relationship of trust, respect, and truly believe (and communicate) the potential for success of each student. When you praise a good action and compliment them for a specific talent that you see in them, chances are they will become better at it.
- Connect students with resources for their personal and professional growth. Encourage them to fight for a cause they believe in, refer them to SIM.
- Show empathy for their lives beyond the classroom setting.
- Build relationships with their parents.
- Encourage the student to do well, get good grades, research on career options, take college entrance exams, and everything to be in the best shape possible for college.
- Encourage the student not to focus on the cost of higher education, but on performance. Private colleges with big endowments, like Harvard, have the funds to accommodate students with special needs or situations. So it does not matter if they cost $50,000 a year, encourage the student to apply anyways. Undocumented students have better chances of getting financed at a private institution than at a public one.
- Emphasize the availability of private scholarships.
- Help the student get organized with different deadlines, to create a calendar to keep track of financial aid filing dates and other priority deadlines.
- Help students fill out applications and review the essays with them (including grammar).
- Write the best recommendation letters for your student. Resist laundry lists like mentioning involvement in school activities, but rather focus on character, integrity, your personal experience with the student, why you see potential, talk about the student’s ability to adapt or learn the language, etc.
- Meet the parents and help them understand what is going on.