Learning vs. Studenting for Immigrant Youth

TE 352 Final Project by April, Emily, & Rikki

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There's Learning and Then There's Schooling

This is the title of the sixth chapter in Lisa (Leigh) Patel’s book Youth Held at the Border: Immigration, Education, and the Politics of Inclusion.  Lisa Patel’s writing describes a differentiating legal border of society rather than a physical one, in which immigrant youth encounter countless new borders long after their physical journey to the United States is over. We don’t often think about these boarders, and she challenges us as readers to reconsider how we view immigration. Through storytelling and ethnographic data from Boston public schools, Patel paints us a picture of the lives of immigrant students, and the social factors they’re profiled with that cause them to feel, metaphorically, “held at the border.”

In this chapter, Lisa Patel describes the accounts of two different students she has worked with: Magdana, the schooler, and Elvis, the talented learner. "Schooling," or “studenting,” as she describes it, is essential for academic achievement, but is not indicative of innate ability or learning skills. When Magdana’s computer teacher, Mr. Knox, gives her class an assignment to create a project based on her journey to the United States, she was fearful of releasing this information because she is undocumented. She also believed that the more emotional the story was, the higher grade it would receive, and therefore fabricated a story to avoid the actual assignment and cater to what her teacher  was looking for.

…Magdana’s journey story illustrates the difference between ‘studenting’ and learning. She learned more about getting around the assignment to get it done than she did about storytelling and technology, undoubtedly the concepts that Mr. Knox had hoped to teach with the project. She had adapted her knowledge and skills to suit what she thought the teacher was looking for. This made her a good student but not necessarily a learner in this particular situation. In fact, being a good student requires learning the style and expectations of the teacher. (pg.52)

For another student, Elvis, it was getting the grade that was most challenging. Patel writes that Elvis was the embodiment of charisma, good intentions, and musical talent, but he was not a “good student.” It was as though every point he earned on a test could only be gained through paint, sweat, and suffering, and even then he struggled greatly. He tried his best to be attentive and learn, but that hard work didn’t transfer over into the grade he needed.

While not a model student, Elvis was a studied and excellent learner, particularly of people and of contexts. He enjoyed DJing and playing music when he could, and you cannot be a successful DJ without knowing your catalog, the scene that you’re in, and moving the rhythm of that scene deliberately with music. These were all things he learned to do, as he tried to do in school, but he could not decipher what his teacher wanted from him as well as he could with the people in his audiences. Little of the toil and effort in education and schooling translates into achievement, even for documented immigrants, which Elvis was. Decontextualized requirements, like ‘on-time’ graduation, also reelection very little of their actual learning and even get in the way of the learning that these students need and can demonstrate.

Patel, L. (2013). There's Learning and Then There's Schooling. In Youth Held at the Border: Immigration, education, and the politics of inclusion. Amsterdam Avenus, New York: Teachers College.

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Youth Held at the Border: Lessons for Teachers and Students

What "There's Learning and Then There's Schooling" means for teachers:

In teacher education programs, we tend to focus on how to create good learning environments in classrooms, but we don’t often differentiate between pursuing the completion of an academic task and genuine learning. This culture of teacher education makes for an almost constant conflation of studenting with learning.

Patel gives us the example of a  science teacher, who, in order to teach his class about musk thistles, would need to not only process content knowledge, but also know about it in a way that is engaging, builds schematic knowledge of plant biology, attends to various students’ linguistic and cultural knowledge and experiences with scientific content, addresses an academic language objective that is not just about vocabulary, and make sure this teaching also prepares students for their mandated assessments in science... all for one lesson. This is not how all schools function, however. Teachers are usually not given the time or ability to get to know their students outside of their test grades and often cannot build the relationships needed with immigrant students to relate material to their funds of knowledge and prior experiences and understanding. Due to the structure of schools, teachers end up serving the purposes of schooling rather than teaching.

The structure of schooling, then, has logically, although regrettably, reflected priorities of content over relationships. (pg. 50)

In Dr. Patel’s work with college students studying to be teachers, she often challenges them to think about this difference between schooling and learning. In her book, she explains that she has them write about the last time that they learned something. Recognize the difference: not a time when they studented, or figured out the requirements to get the best grade—but when they learned. She describes characteristics of real learning as feeling discomfort, dissonance, or even failure because of not having the knowledge or skills needed for success in that context. She finds that students usually write about non-school events, such as learning to save a drowning person to be become a lifeguard or learning to drive a manual shift car.

This is part of the challenge that schools face: Their context is confined to tasks that can be taught and completed in a square room with desks and chairs in 50-minute segments. It is difficult to manufacture true learning day after day within classroom walls, especially when greater incentives and negative consequences are tied to students’ test scores. It is not impossible, though. In the interest of immigrant students who face many different kinds of challenges and obstacles to succeed, no teacher preparation program is able to fully prepared an educator before they enter schools. But Dr. Patel’s wise words can serve as an introduction to recognizing the differences between elarning and studenting—knowledge we can use to better shape our own classrooms.

  What this means for our students:

It’s important to understand that studenting is necessary and not in and of itself harmful. As an educator, Dr. Patel wants all her students to be savvy, knowing how to ascertain what kind of academic performance is required of them in different situations. Especially for young people, who have neither the time nor money to afford college prep courses, explicit help in studenting is vital. She writes

When I helped Magdana to ‘student’ it was in the service of her academic standing. However, I also want my students to be cogent learners who can adapt to new information and ideas and grow as people. Within the structures and patterns of the school and classrooms, though, all too often in the most ardent, dedicated, and painstaking learning is nor rewarded. (pgs. 52-53)

Students should remember that while short-term memorization and cutting corners on assignments is not itself learning, it is still important in order to achieve a good academic standing. And, with the way the American school system is setup, being a "good student" is necessary for graduation and new opportunities. But students should do their best to always be learning: relate the information to other things  your life, explore new ides, form relationships with teachers and students ask questions an share ideas with. Challenge yourself. Don't silly be  good student for the system. Be a good learner for yourself.

  Patel, L. (2013). There's Learning and Then There's Schooling. In Youth Held at the Border: Immigration, education, and the politics of inclusion. Amsterdam Avenus, New York: Teachers College.

(Above photo of Lisa Patel, author of Youth Held at the Border)

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Anecdotes from Crossing the Schoolhouse Border

"It was too hard for me.  I didn't know anything.  I didn't know the ABCs or the arithmetic and I felt so stupid.  I should have been in 1st or 2nd grade, not in the 5th.  I told my parents I want to change, but the teacher said no because it depends on your age.  I cried because I didn't understand."

         -9th grade Lao child, immigrated at age 10

"I wasn't in the right grade because I think I should have been in 11th or 12th.  They said because of my English I had to be in 10th.  I didn't care because you need credits to go to college so I have to do it even though the work was too easy for me.  For my first two years here I did all the work I did back in the Philippines all over again."

         -12th grade Filipino student, immigrated at age 17

"For me, they shouldn't have put me in Basic Math.  I should have been in Algebra.  But there is more English vocabulary in Algebra so they said I couldn't take it until I learned more English.  I felt I was spending time with things I already knew, but then that's required of Latin immigrants.  We waste our time because we don't know English yet."

          -11th grade Mexican student, immigrated at age 14

These anecdotes, taken from Crossing the Schoolhouse Border, describe the different situations that immigrant students have faced in American schools.  Yet, despite these variations, there are many parallels that can relate to the plight of many immigrant students.  Throughout Crossing the Schoolhouse Border, there are many anecdotes from immigrant youth who have been or are currently enrolled in American schools.  The three passages above in particular though relate to studenting versus learning, as well as the flaws in the current way the educational system deals with immigrant students.  The 9th grade Lao child faced a challenging school environment that did not seem to support his needs as an individual.  Since he did not have a grasp on what was going on in his 5th grade class, it can be argued that he was not truly learning the material--he was merely trying to get by.  This same claim about the student not learning can also be made for the other two anecdotes.  In this case, the students felt the coursework was too easy and repetitious of what they had learned in their native country.  Despite not feeling challenged enough, these students were unfortunately stuck in a certain grade due to their apparent English skills.  With the 12th grade Filipino student, it seems he is merely “studenting,” because even though the class was similar to what he had already done in his native country, he reasoned that at least he got credits to eventually go to a college.  One of the main things that mattered then was just taking the class to get credit, so he was more extrinsically motivated.  It is possible that if the student were to be placed in more level-appropriate classes, he would be more intrinsically motivated to learn.

One takeaway of this for the educator is the need to recognize the programs your school has in place for immigrants.  If age and English proficiency are the sole factors determining the classroom placement for such students, a change might be necessary.  From these personal stories, it is evident that this system is not working for the students in it.  They face stress, confusion, boredom, monotonous routine, and so forth.  Most importantly though, they are not learning in the ways they could be.  Immigrant students, like any other student, bring funds of knowledge to the classroom, and in order for this knowledge to be fully utilized, we cannot subject students to succumb to “studenting.”  School should be a place where children grow both emotionally and intellectually, not a place where they just coast through or struggle on a daily basis.     

Olsen, L., & Chen, M. T. (1988). Crossing the schoolhouse border: Immigrant students and the California public schools. San Francisco, CA: California Tomorrow.

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It is often difficult for immigrant youth to keep their motivation in school because they know their choices for the future are limited due to their lack of papers. Teachers can work to recognize this and offer help, and realize why this lack of motivation might happen, instead of blaming it on factors such as their intelligence. They are dealing with so much more than school, worry of being deported. They are often led to try and find ways to “cheat the system,” which causes them to lack performance skills in their future jobs. On top of all these difficulties, a lot of states make immigrant youth pay international rates, so they are unable to afford college. 

NewsHour Extra. (2011, May 31). Undocumented immigrant students face education challenges [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0uwuXy_uBg

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Weep Not, Child

Kenyan writer Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s novel Weep Not, Child gives us an different look at teaching and studenting. Taking place in Kenya during colonization and the Mau Mau rebellion, its stories of schooling are very different from typical immigrant situations. Here, instead of moving to a new country and beginning school there, the Kenyan children are forced to begin attending a new, white, colonized school that they have no say in. Njoroge, the novel's protagonist, thinks highly of schools in all forms:

“[Njoroge] always thought that schooling was the very best that a boy could have. It was the end of all living. And he wanted everyone to go to school.”

Weep Not, Child explores the theme of education. Education can be for its own sake and not just a ticket to a profitable job where, in colonized Kenya, corruption can grow. Education has a special importance in Gikuyu culture, and Njoroge in particular sees it as the best way for a person to improve himself and contribute to society. In the upheaval of the 1950s, Njoroge ultimately does not go very far with his schooling, and one of the novel's most tragic arcs is Njoroge's eventual realization that education has its limits and cannot change a violent world. Some of this, however, could have to do with the methods of teaching he was exposed to. Take a look at this excerpt from the novel, for example

Teacher     What are you doing?

Njoroge      (thinly) You are standing up.

Teacher     (slightly cross) What are you doing?

Njoroge     (clears his throat, voice thinner still) You are standing up.

Teacher     No,no! (to the class) Come on. What are you, you doing?

Njoroge was very confused. Hands were raised u all around him. He felt more and more foolish so that in the end he have up the very attempt to answer.

Teacher     (points to Mwihaji) Stand up. What are you doing?

Mwihaki    (head bent onto one shoulder) I am standing up.

Teacher     Good. Now, Njoroge. What is she doing?

Njoroge     I am standing up.

The class giggled.

Teacher         (very annoyed) Class, what is she doing?

Class             (singing) You are standing u.

Teacher     (still more angry) I am asking you… What is she doing?

Class         (afraid, quietly singing) You are standing up.

Teacher     Look here you stupid and lazy fools. How long do you take to catch things?  (pg. 48)

 On a surface level, it may seem that this style of teaching meets Dr. Patel’s descriptions of good learning: an education that causes feelings discomfort, dissonance, or even failure because of not having the knowledge or skills needed for success in that context. However, this teacher is not taking into account the children’s funds of knowledge, calling the Kenyans “stupid and lazy fools,” not understanding that there is no correlation between English skills and intelligence. This teacher does try to form any relationship or bond with her students, nor does she attempt to structure her lessons in ways that will best fit her students' needs. Also, because the students are being forced to learn this European curriculum with no say of their own, the things they absorb in the classroom will likely not improve their lives. In an ignorant attempt to “civilize the natives,” Europeans taught Njoroge’s peers curriculums from the global north that had nothing to do with working the land and trade—the Gikuyu's main sources of work, growth, and income. In the end, all of Njoroge’s teachings end up being “schooling,” and he eventually realizes this. For Kenyan youths, education is not a vestibule to a better future, and can even alienates them from people and society. This is a harsh example of one of the dangers of schooling: teaching to the test (and information that students will never need such as “teaching” native African students to memorize the European governments and countries) when they should be taught things to better their own economies and lives.

Thiong'o, N. (2009). The Waning Light. In Weep Not, Child (p. 48). South Africa: Pengion Books.

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Pedagogy of the Oppressed

In chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire discusses the importance of the teacher-student relationship in a child's education. He did this by discussing both the banking and problem-posing methods of learning. The banking method seeks to simply deposit information into each students mind, without taking into account their individual strengths, needs, and backgrounds. This is a common approach for teachers who are tasked with teaching immigrant youth. It is much easier to view all students equally, and in need of the same information, than to see that each student has their own skill set, interests, culture, etc. The banking method can be very harmful to immigrant youth. Most of the time, these students rely on teachers for many different reasons, and by treating each child the same, and failing to notice that others may need more or different styles and forms of help, the quality of their education can be hindered.

  Freire, P. (2000). Chapter 2. In Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum.

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The Education of Immigrant Youth: Some Lessons From the U.S and Spain

The education systems in the United States and Spain are very different from each other, yet they are alike in one very important aspect; Both have large academic gaps between majority and immigrant students. In their approach to becoming welcoming to these students, they actually encourage their silence even more. Without a value places on multilingual education, some of these students feel silenced at school, where they do not feel comfortable with the English language, while others feel silenced in their own homes, due to their not being allowed to speak their parents language in school. Although teachers might think of themselves as very inclusive to their students, it is common that their actions actually show otherwise, by segregating these students for most of the day, putting them in unchallenging courses, as well as many other things that altogether lead immigrant youth to feel silenced and unsupported.

  Gibson, M., & Carrasco, S. (2009). The education of immigrant youth: Some lessons from the U.S. and Spain. Theory into practice, 249-257.

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"Position Paper on Language and Literacy Development for Young English Language Learners (ages 3-8)"

This article provides helpful advice on how to best integrate English Language Learners into American schools.  Since a portion of such students might be immigrant youth, it is vital for educators to understand the best ways to foster academic success and create a positive learning environment for this population.  Educators should go off the fact that “all young children come to school equipped with a foundation in knowledge and learning from home” and that the “use of the native language builds a connection between the home and school.”  When a teacher supports an immigrant student, this can help him or her adjust to and feel more comfortable in school.  If they have students that are learning English, “instructors should limit activities that typically challenge the attention span of young learners, such as sitting quietly and listening for long periods,” as this can develop into the child “studenting.”  The student is not actively involved in what is going on, and this can result in disengagement from school.  Additionally, if a teacher has immigrant students in the classroom, it is significant to use “children’s literature from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds…[this] will ensure that ESOL students feel included and represented.”  While not all immigrants are English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students, since they are already fluent in English, by a teacher not including culturally diverse material into the curriculum, such students may feel excluded.  A teacher’s goal is for all students to have a desire to learn and this can be accomplished in part by making sure that all students feel represented and feel like what they are learning is relevant to them and their world.

Position paper on language and literacy development for young English language learners (ages 3-8). (2010). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.tesol.org/docs/pdf/371.pdf?sfvrsn=2

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Email Interview with an Alumna of an International School with IB and AP Programs

Question: How many immigrants do you think attended your IB school while you were there? Did they generally come from a particular country or region, or were a variety of different places represented?

Answer: I would guess that around 90% of the students that attended my school were from out of the country. Within my grade (and probably the rest of the school), around 40-50% were American, but we also had a large number of Scandinavian students (mostly from Sweden, but also from Norway and Denmark) and students from Japan and Korea. We also had students from other West and East European countries (France, Germany, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Poland), the Middle East (Saudi, Bahrain, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, UAE), and countries from various parts of Africa (Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia, Tunisia, South Africa).

Question: Where the majority of immigrants English Language Learners?

Answer: Not a majority, but a fair number of the students in my grade were, and I would say it was almost evenly split. Most students in my year learnt English as a second language, but it was mixed in terms of how proficient people were at speaking it, I would say that at any given time within my year there were probably around 30-40 that would be taking English language classes along with the standard curriculum.

Question: Did the IB school have programs for English Language Learners? If so, what was the set up--were they exclusive, inclusive, or a combination?

Answer: Yes, the school had classes and programs set up for students who had either never learnt English, or didn’t know enough to excel in school (being able to understand and do classwork, for example). I think that these were usually set up as classes or a structured study hall period, depending on how much English you knew. Students who were just starting to learn would have classes that were set up to simultaneously help them speak and write better, but also work on school assignments. Students who spoke English at a higher level, but still may struggle with writing and reading comprehension at an academic level, would usually just have a structured study hall period where they could ask for help from a qualified teacher when they needed it. I’m not sure what you mean by inclusive/exclusive, but these were classes that I think were offered to anyone who didn’t speak English at a first language, and I imagine were probably required of students who were just starting to learn the language.

Question: From your perspective, how were immigrant students treated by teachers and other peers? Were they integrated well into the school population or more separated?

Answer: Overall, I would say new students were fairly well integrated into the school population. Most of the students who attended my school were from out of the country, and even more of them had attended other international schools before this. As well as this, new students weren’t uncommon at our school, as its common for international students to move around a lot, so we would always have students coming and going, and every year we would have at least 20 or so new students (although as we got to junior/senior year, less students moved away or came in, as this was when the IB started). Students from different countries and backgrounds would be friends with each other, and I would say it was probably more of an anomaly for students to solely hangout with someone from their own country/group.

Question: In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of an immigrant student attending an IB school, in terms of academic success, social connections, or other factors?

Answer:I would say that one of the biggest advantages in terms of academics for an immigrant student attending an IB school is the structure of IB curriculum and the resources that are available at schools that offer the IB. As the IB program is developed in order to be used across the world by students from different countries, it is structured in a way that I think allows for any student, regardless of whether English is their first, second or third language, to be successful. The IB is a two year course, where students are required to take six courses, three at a higher level (this is only if you want the IB diploma) but students are given the freedom to pick courses at levels that would best suit them. For example, while taking an English literary course is required for the IB, many students who didn’t speak English as a first language could take an IB English course that was far less strenuous than the IB standard or higher levels. As well as this, the IB program also requires students to take a foreign language, but students could do an independent study in a language that they were already fluent in, so many students would take independent study in their first language (I had a friend who independently studied Estonian, which was her first language, for example). While the IB program is difficult, I do think that the way the curriculum was structured, at least in terms of language, allowed students who didn’t speak English as a first language more academic success than say, the AP program. I also think that the IB program will better prepare students for university level course work. I also think that IB schools have a social environment that would be more welcoming for immigrant students, as many of the students who attend IB schools and take the IB are international students themselves. My school offered the AP and the IB program, and in my own experience most of the students that took the AP program were almost all American, whereas the IB had a mix of students from different countries and different levels of English proficiency. I think going to an IB school would give immigrant students to not only meet students who come from similar countries or backgrounds to themselves, but also connect with students from other countries, unlike what I sometimes see here at MSU. In terms of disadvantages, while the IB is a more inclusive academic program than others, its still extremely difficult, although this is due more to workload then I would say due to any language barriers between what is being taught and the students taking it. Almost all of the students within my own year struggled with the amount of work required of them for their classes, and all in all the IB can be very overwhelming program to take on.

How this connects: In this email interview, we interviewed a fellow MSU student who had previously attended an international school with an IB program and AP program in London, England. Due to the school’s status as an international school, we thought about what that might mean for an immigrant student and how they fit in with the school environment. Additionally, because this school had the extensive IB program, we wondered how immigrants, especially those who were English Language Learners, performed academically. The focus of the questions was on the IB program and not the AP program because the AP program is quite established in the United States, so this student's perspective on the IB program at an international school in England reveals information that many US citizens may not have been aware of. The student herself was born in the United States but moved to England during childhood. Based on her responses, it can be noted that the structure of international IB schools can positively impact an immigrant student, as it takes consideration of everyone’s abilities, provides interaction with people of many different cultures, lets students use both their native and the English language, and prepare them for future academic success through work ethic and college credit.

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“The Ecological Perspective of Development”

Bronfenbrenner’s work on ecological psychology is a highly valuable asset for educators in order to understand the funds of knowledge, family background, and other influences that can affect an immigrant student, or any other student too.  For many immigrant youth, their past life in their native home might have been emotionally traumatic and unstable.  Therefore, “interactions with others and the environment are key to development.”  A student’s well-being is supported by the societal connections between parents, school, culture, and other groups.  With this in mind, a teacher should strive to connect with the parents or guardians of an immigrant student and even learn about the student’s culture.  This demonstrates to the student that an authority figure does care about him or her and wants to help.  By also understanding the student’s macrosystem, or larger cultural context, and skills, a teacher can discover both the youth’s funds of knowledge and possible challenges to overcome in American education.  Ideally, this support network and understanding of a student’s home life and background would help an immigrant youth not succumb to “studenting” and being overwhelmed with American schools and culture.  Instead, he or she would have intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn and succeed in school.  

The ecological perspective of development. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2014, from http://faculty.weber.edu/tlday/human.development/ecological.htm

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Homegirls

                  “Sor Juana High School was a microcosm of the demographic situation that increasingly faces schools across the country, where rising immigrant populations have created diversity that challenges teachers, exceeds school capacities, and provides students with opportunities for learning about difference...The diversity of the student body...also brought its share of challenges, especially when it came to instruction for students who arrived speaking languages other than English.  In a few cases, immigrant students were absorbed into the educational system if their country of origin had English as its sole official language.  But for other immigrant students the school undertook a complex procedure to classify them and assess their linguistic needs” (p. 31-32)

“...even though fully half of the Latina/o LEP students had the highest possible scores in oral proficiency examinations, it was still the case that the great majority of these students were not succeeding in school, had high dropout rates, and were placed in low-level classes because of low grades, overall test scores, or behavioral issues” (p. 34)

Homegirls is an ethnography by Norma Mendoza-Denton.  For several years, Mendoza-Denton interacted with students at Sor Juana High School in California, most notably Latina youth that were involved in gangs.  Through this research, the topics of language, culture, education, gender roles, race, and class were explored in the context of the high school and the relationships between Mexico and the United States.

The book’s first chapter in particular had a focus on the experiences of immigrant and minority students in school.  It talked about the reality of flaws in standardized testing, stereotyping, and big educational decisions that were based on other impersonal factors.  As a result, Mendoza-Denton stresses the need for more efficient systems to be in place, so as to prevent “erroneous placement and stereotyping” (p. 35) of the students.  As a result, students were often stuck on this flawed track.  Furthermore, students enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses could meet high school graduation requirements, but not the more rigorous college admission requirements.  This means that a majority of the students would not be ready for entry into the University of California or the California State University systems.  In addition, a student’s placement into an ESL classroom that is too easy or not challenging enough for him can result in the child “studenting,” as they are not truly learning about information that is relevant to him or sets him up for college and future successes.  This is the case with Armando, who “had immigrated from Mexico when he was five years old.  At fifteen, he was a fluent Chicano English speaker and had been promoted through ten grade levels without every being reclassified from Limited to Fluent English Proficient.  ‘He is just too rowdy,’ said the teachers.  ‘I am bored in class,’ said Armando.  ‘What is this?  This is a dog.  This is a cat.  Give me a break!  I’d rather get kicked out of class.’” (p. 35).

For the educator: If your school district seems to have a similar system to that of Sor Juana High School, it is vital that you address this with coworkers and at meetings, when appropriate.  Regardless if immigrants make up a small or large population in the school, all students deserve the opportunity to learn and grow.  Just because immigrants might seem more “challenging” at a surface level, in terms of language barriers, cultural differences, disabilities, or behavioral issues, our role as educators is to figure out the problem and strive to solve it.  Sometimes, this is a problem that you can change by improving your teaching style, but sometimes it is a systematic issue, and so requires more people.  Nonetheless, the consequences of this change in teaching and program structure can have long-term positive effects for immigrants and any other type of students as well.

Mendoza-Denton, N. (2008). Homegirls: Language and cultural practices among latina youth gangs. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

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Crossing the Schoolhouse Border

“Immigrant children bring a tremendous motivation to learn, excitement and appreciation for a free public education system, a deep respect for teachers and the schools, and a strong desire to make their new life here in California workable.  They are most often met by schools with haphazard efforts to address their English language needs or their academic skill development needs, social environments which are ambivalent if not openly hostile to the immigrant, provided no orientation or support in making the transition to this new culture, and cut off too soon from supports which might make it possible for them to fully partake in the school program.  Immigrant children are, for the most part, left to sink or swim on their own in school.  Some swim, and their success and achievements are an inspiration and testament to their hard work, luck, strengths and survival skills.  But the majority appear to be sinking—and with them sinks their future and California’s as a state dependent on a labor force increasingly comprised of immigrants, and dependent on the ability of its people to live together in a diverse society.” (p. 96)

The quote above from Crossing the Schoolhouse Border describes situations similar to that of many immigrants throughout the nation.  It is essential for teachers to realize that every immigrant brings funds of knowledge with him to America.  Even though it might appear that immigrant students might be more of a challenge to teach, due to factors like language barriers and previous disrupted education in the native country, when such students are in your classroom in America, this presents the unique opportunity to share your passion for education and learning.

Like with any child, it is important to build a positive student-teacher relationship, as this builds a support network and feeling comfortable in the classroom.  This can help a child to “swim.”   This positive outcome can also be fostered with additional resources that help the immigrant youth adapt to American life and culture, such as a Native peer mentorship program and interactions with guidance counselors.  All of this and more is what can lead to learning and intellectual growth.

When an immigrant student is left to “sink,” then it can be argued that the teacher and a school system has failed the child, and the structure of immigrant support programs needs to be rethought.  By drowning and feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork and unrealistic expectations, students resort to “studenting,” as school is no longer a place for them to learn and develop as individuals.  Schools in America have experienced all sorts of segregation throughout this country’s history, such as separation based on race, gender, and physical disabilities.  We cannot let country of origin and cultural differences inhibit schools from making it so all students can learn and be successful.  The United States was built by immigrants and we are currently living in an era of globalization, and with this then we should embrace the diversity of all of our students and support them in any way that we can.

Olsen, L., & Chen, M. T. (1988). Crossing the schoolhouse border: Immigrant students and the California public schools. San Francisco, CA: California Tomorrow.

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The two charts above are from Crossing the Schoolhouse Border.  This text focuses on immigrant life in the United States, particularly the school and family dynamics.  In Chart 14, the data reveals the support networks that students have found in America.  Although each category has less than 50% representation, there are at least some percentage of people in each nationality group taking advantage of almost all of the available resources for homework help.  Many claims could be made about this table in terms of the various relationships that exist within this area in California.  Immigrant friends, siblings, relatives, and teachers are the most used in the statistic for all nationalities combined.  Fellow immigrant friends can be a strong support to have, assuming that this bond can be relieving and empathetic because students have a friend that is going through a possible similar experience in terms of socialization and education.  The use of teachers as a resource for homework help demonstrates a close relationship to the structure of the school and knowing that they can seek help from such authority figures.  

The statistics in Chart 14 combined with Chart 15, which asked how long students did their homework each night, reveals two concrete factors of student’s efforts outside of school.  While doing two or more hours of homework does not necessarily mean the time made for effective and efficient studying, it still shows a dedication to schooling.  Though if a student is struggling in school and with homework, by seeking help from a multitude of people can motivate him or her to be a better student and help them to truly learn the material.

These two charts hold important implications for teachers.  If it feels necessary, a teacher could adapt such a survey for his or her own class.  The results can inform a teacher of the amount of time and resources students are utilizing and see how to best help the students outside of the classroom.  If the survey reveals that students are not spending a lot of time on homework and not seeking guidance, a teacher would want to figure out how to fix this issue.  Often times, students might feel like no one is there to help them in school and this can lead to them not taking their education seriously.  If a student’s teacher and school are supporting of every individual and there are readily available extra resources for homework help, the student’s learning environment is more stable and a platform for learning.

Olsen, L., & Chen, M. T. (1988). Crossing the schoolhouse border: Immigrant students and the California public schools. San Francisco, CA: California Tomorrow.

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Finding the Balance - an original short story

written by April Olinger. This fictional story explores the ideas of immigrant youth, learning vs. studenting, funds of knowledge, language and cultural barriers, and peer and teacher-student relationships.

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Many push and pull factors triggered Mohammed’s father’s decision to move from their home in Tunisia to Arizona, but few people asked of them, and even fewer cared. When he arrived, Mohammed knew little English. He recognized some words on street signs and could converse through basic greetings he had learned during the move, but the letters were so different from the Arabic alphabet, and he often felt his mind was incapable of processing what he heard or read. He had heard his spoken English described as ‘broken’ in school, though, which he thought was strange. It seemed to him that nothing about him was broken... He had new things to learn now, but it wasn’t as if he needed to be fixed. At least… he didn’t feel that way within the doors of his house, separated m from the less-accepting outside world. Sometimes, when he was downtown in a store or restaurant, people would ignore him when they couldn’t understand him, overlooking is questions or requests as if they had no value, some sharing a condescend look with co-worker or friends. And school presented more of these struggles.

In Tunisia, Mohammed wasn’t a star pupil, but he was a good student and an attentive learner. He completed his work, scored well on tests, and studied his Quran diligently. But things here were different. He still held all the knowledge he’d learned in Tunisia, and looking around the room, Mohammed thought he probably knew just as much as the students in his class—in some areas, probably even more. But having been placed into an English-only school district, he had no way of communicating it.

Along with English, he especially struggled in American History. Having been dropped into the 3rd period sixth grade class, the country he studied was entirely new to him and so was the information on the page; he didn’t have the prior knowledge the other students had. Parliament, Constitution, Congress, civil war, confederate, colony, Columbus—meaningless. His teacher used these words in class with the assumption that her students already knew their meaning, and it left Mohammed feeling lost and confused.

As the months passed he stayed quiet and to himself at school, but his English was improving. It was still limited, but he was understanding more and more. Still, he didn’t understand the material in his American History class. Having been in the U.S. less than six months, he couldn’t relate any of the stories and lessons to his life like other students could, and the terms and definitions flowed into one of his ears and out the other. He felt out of place and on his own. He had noticed other foreign students at his school but was too shy to speak with them. Plus, they were not from Tunisia, and his heritage was beginning to seem like something worthy of shame instead of pride. Still, he wished they could be in a class together—at least then he would have someone else who could relate to him and the language barriers and borders he faced.

Mohammed wasn’t a ‘good’ student, but, at least on paper, he wasn’t a bad one, and he got by in class by copying classmates’ homework when they would let him. He didn’t like to cheat, but he didn’t know what else to do; he had to pass. One morning when Mohammed asked Jacob, the boy who sat to his right in 3rd period, to look off his homework for the third time that week, Jacob thoughtfully offered an alternative.

“Instead of just copying it, how about we work on the next assignment together? We can help each other.”

Surprised, but delighted at the thought of having a real friend, Mohammed agreed to meet Jacob after school in the library to work that night’s assignment. As they worked, Jacob went to great lengths to help Mohammed understand the terms. It helped, but when he saw that Mohammed was still struggling, he proposed a trick that he used on exams.

“There’s a test coming up next week,” Jacob told him. “It’s fill in the blank. I heard from my brother that Ms. Laurence’s tests are always fill in the blank. And she uses word banks. Let me show you what I do when I can’t remember a definition or don’t understand a question.”

Jacob taught Mohammed to look for key words within the definitions of the terms. For example, for the test they would have to know about Paul Revere: that he rode to Lexington in 1775, that he was meant to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and the famous phrase ‘The British are coming.’ “These are the important facts,” Jacob told Mohammed, “so you don’t have to read all of the question or even understand it. Just look for the name ‘Paul Revere’ and you’ll know what of these three facts is the answer!”

Jacob’s advice worked. Mohammed had figured out a way to cheat the system of his teacher’s tests and ‘student’ his way to a high grade. He knew what his teacher wanted and he delivered, even if he didn’t fully understand the meaning of the words he filled in the blank. When he received his first history test back, the 94 written at the top of the page filled him will excitement, and Ms. Laurence had written ‘fantastic job! much improved’ at the top alongside his grade. He was doing well in the class! He was learning!

However, his joyful feelings were quickly shaken when he found out a few tests later that they, in fact, were not all fill in the blank. He was still studying after school with Jacob, and his friendship and confidence was growing, but before the semester ended for the holiday the class was given a new test: short answers and essay. Mohammed didn’t recognize all of the words, and he couldn’t form complete sentences to answer the ones he did understand. The letters twisted and danced on the page as he stared at it blankly, beginning to panic. Towards the end of the test he saw the words ‘Paul Revere’ immerged within a long paragraph he could not read. He scribbled down ‘British’ and ‘1775,’ turned in his test quickly, and left the class distraught.

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When he returned back to class after the break, Mohammed knew he needed to talk to Ms. Laurence. He had realized that memorization and cheating his tests was not the same as learning. In fact, he didn’t know some of the material any better than he had when the class had begun.

After class he told Ms. Laurence the truth that he wasn’t learning and that he didn’t know how—that he had been memorizing words and dates without understanding their significance. It took him a long time to find the right words and communicate his confessions, but his teacher was understanding and listened compassionately. When he was finished, Mrs. Laurence told him not to worry. She told him that memorization is an important part of being successful in school and that he shouldn’t be badly. But now, she would help make sure he was learning, too.

In the following weeks Mohammed and Ms. Laurence met during lunch to help him study. To become more informed on Mohammed’s funds of knowledge, she even researched the Tunisian government and looked up the Arabic words for some of the more broad American history terms, like revolution and constitution. That way they could learn together, and Mrs. Laurence could relate what Mohammed knew about the Tunisian government and apply it to learn commonalities and differences between it and the American government. When Mohammed's teacher took an interest in his life and made an effort to make his assignments more relatable and understandable, for the first time he felt like he was truly learning the information. She even organized a study group with Mohammed and the other immigrant students in his grade. Now, through studying with Jacob, Ms. Laurence, and the other immigrant students at his school, Mohammed found an effective balance between 'studenting' and 'learning.'

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You must read, you must persevere, you must sit up nights, you must inquire, and exert the utmost power of your mind. If one way does not lead to the desired meaning, take another; if obstacles arise, then still another; until, if your strength holds out, you will find that clear which at first looked dark.

- Giovanni Boccaccio

(by x)

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This quote by Giovanni Boccaccio signifies the importance of learning about the world around you.  Part of this can be achieved in school when teachers inspire students to be eager to learn.  The quote addresses to not give up on learning, even if it is challenging.  When a student gives up, they often resort to merely studenting--just trying to get by in school without truly gaining anything.