“Eager To Learn— Immigrant High School Students Demonstrate a Notable Difference From Many US Teens" by Teacher, Myster E

           

As a retired Physics teacher, I substitute teach in a large high school where I experience a wide spectrum of humanity: various socio-economic backgrounds, races, and ethnicities.    Some students appear healthy, vibrant, confident, highly motivated; others seem sad, unkempt, and sometimes angry. I teach classes loaded with students of the second type. This is where I meet with rebelliousness and apathy, which are great challenges for a substitute teacher.

Recently, I had a student who returned to school after being hospitalized for a week for psychiatric reasons. During the same period, another student had a panic attack and I had to send her to the school nurse.  Later on that same day, I observed a student sitting at her desk for 90 minutes staring at the walls, refusing to do anything.  As I approached her, I saw she had tears in her eyes and she said she was ready to walk out the school and never come back.

The following day, I experienced an entirely different situation as I substituted in a class of English as Second Language students.  The students were children of immigrants from various countries such as Niger, Micronesia, Syria, and Guatemala.  Many students were rather timid but attentive, shy but ready to give you a smile.  As soon as they walked into the room, they were ready to get to work. Although they had deficiencies and difficulty with the English language, they showed eagerness to learn and they were receptive to my helping them. 

Why are these immigrant students different? Perhaps they realize that education is the main means to improve their lives. The contrast of the situation they left behind to the new opportunities in the United States may create incentive to learn. Their family support must also play a role.

What about our students who seemingly have given up? My experiences in teaching were mainly in smaller schools and smaller towns. In forty years of teaching, I was never confronted with this kind of apathy. Invariably there was individual attention toward a failing student by the school and also the community. There were more opportunities for a student to be involved in school activities, youth organizations or a church group. I am not implying that the big city is the only reason for our failing youth. If family support is missing, however, something personal has to take its place.  A personal relationship with an adult, such as a teacher, a pastor or a foster parent, is one of the most powerful ways to help a struggling adolescent.  

These personal relationships usually offer some form of security, stability and structure, which are necessary before a troubled youth starts thinking about education. Immigrant families in general, seem to understand this better than many of our own families. Can the schools, the communities or our social services step in to fill in the gap? At stake is the future of this country.  -- 

Elder Myster E 

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