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Yiding Wang ENG 112 Megan Keaton 25 April, 2013 Immigrant education Immigrant education has been an important topic for the immigrants. Most immigrant parents take care of the information about their child. The common questions that parents have: Is immigrant student having difficulties in the new school? What problem do they have? Which problem is easy to solve and which problem is not? How do the children adopt to the new school life? To the public of view, the main problems of immigrant students are learning a new language, finance, information and pressure. Many people think being an immigrant student is hard in their new school life, but the recent studies show even though immigrant students have a lot of difficulties, they do well in their new school. I think immigrant is good in the new environment. The difficulties will be solved if immigrant student are given more attention and help. The primary difficulty that the immigrant students have is language. But the language problem can be solved by the joint efforts of teachers, parents and students. Most immigrants come from the countries that have different language; and learn English as their second language. Some immigrant students do not learn English in their own country. At present, almost all schools have an English test when the new student applies for admission. If a student passes the exam, they can start normal classes, if they dont pass, they should start ESL class first. ESL is short for English as a Second Language; ESL class teaches immigrant students basic English knowledge. But the ESL class has

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their limit, even if a student can pass the exam; the English is still plagued by some immigrant students. For example, An Iran girl, Reyhaneh Fathieh, who learns English in the United States, when she came to the United States at 11 years old, she found it was difficult to learn English. She barely spoke for the first six months in her 5th grade class because she was afraid she would make mistakes. On the other side, some students will spend a lot time in ESL class, like Elmer Moreno, a native of Bolivia who is the third student assistant, spent the last three years in ESL classes. At age 18, he enrolled in 9th grade at the Prince William district's Gar-Field Senior High School, and he graduated this spring at age 22 (Former ESL). The different experiences of the student assistants illustrate that not all students learn English at the same rate. Miss. Bass said much depends on immigrants' education and literacy levels in their native languages (Former ESL). I think it is not important, another professor who job is to the secondary and special education also point out: educating English language learners depend on the knowledge that comes from the community, from crossing the street and getting to know a parent, a life story, a different way of dening and practicing literacy (Cross the Street). In Reyhanehs story, Reyhaneh sisters credit their success to their parents' focus on education. In immigrant families, parents usually want to support their childrens education, but they do not know how to do. The teacher should assume this role that connecting schools and families. Bringing parents to the classroom also helps bring teachers closer to their students homes. Giving parents a voice and an opportunity is just a simple strategy that helps foster and strengthen the partnership between schools and the families that they serve (Cross the Street). The oral literacy of the home met the written

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literacy of the classroom, and they complemented and extended each other (Cross the Street). The high cost of immigrant student is also a problem in the immigrant family. This problem is now slowly fading because of the concern of the community. When the immigrants come to the United States, it means that they gave up their work and some assets in their original country. They need to start to find a new job to maintain their life. Amy comes from an immigrant family, she said her California state education cost $17,000 a year, more than three times the $4,500 tuition legal residents enjoyed. Her parents thought a college education was vital to success in America, so her parents worked like superheroes to put her and her sister through college, paying out-of-state tuition for each of them (Amy story). Money problems exist in almost all immigrant students, but for undocumented students, this is a very serious problem. A school report said: They (immigrant student) also have few options to pay for college. They are not eligible for federal or state financial aid, and cannot take part in work-study programs. For many, the only way is through scholarships, which are rare. Rely on new policies in recent years, it greatly reduce the economic pressure on immigrant students. More and more schools and the government started to pay attention to the financial problems of the immigrant students. In addition to FAFSA, country assistance and state government assistance, most college also has financial assistance to help immigrant students finish their education. Another problem is the new immigrant students lack of understanding about the new education and government policies. This problem needs the help of the government and schools, and it can be solved. In Amys story, she said: When we arrived in the

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United States, my parents did not contact lawyers. They did not know the language, and did not know anyone to turn to for help (Amy story). Some report in Jesuit school also said the immigrant student are commonly first-generation college students, unfamiliar with the college-application process, and in many cases fear divulging information about their immigration status that may put their families at risk (Jesuit School). Due the various reasons, immigrant students do not understand the relevant policies, and they usually do not take the initiative to ask. Many schools have begun to solve this problem; they use telephone and network disseminate of information. Like CPCC in Charlotte, they usually give students a phone call if they release an important notice. For immigrant student, there are some student assistants to help them like how to apply for the FAFSA, transform the point and solve the questions. These student assistants usually some immigrant student volunteers, they can help immigrant students from the view of themselves. Even the Immigrant students have a lot problem; they are still doing well when they are in school. The professor Evelyn Hu-DeHart and Cynthia Garcia Coll in Brown University make a report that the conventional view is fundamentally wrong: New data and research shows that the children of immigrants do well in school and in the community. In fact, many studies show that many children of immigrants outperform their American-born peers both in school performance and in out-of-school positive behaviors (Natalie). The reason is the new immigrant parents value education above all else and often has high moral standards. Many people began to call for the Governments concern immigrant students. Political leaders are concerned about the economic effects of immigrant children to their budgets and the social effects to their communities, said

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by Garcia Coll and Evelyn Hu-DeHart. The conventional view may be wrong, but it is strong and widely held. It is our responsibility and duty to these children who will be the future leaders of our country to provide them with an educational environment that fosters learning and to support them in their quest to overcome the challenges of poverty, foreignness, and social exclusion (Natalie). The Immigrant student has lot difficulties in the new school and new country. The language problem, high cost and poor understanding are major problem they meet. But these problems cannot prevent immigrant students from learning and adapt to new environments. The most important thing for immigrant student is the concern of the community and peoples support. Through the efforts of parents and students, the help of schools and government; most immigrant students go into a new learning environment. The educators and policymakers to change their attitudes toward immigrant children is a good help.

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Work Cited Natalie Villacorta, Profs. present the immigrant paradox Monday, September 20, 2010, Print. Naiditch, Fernando. "Cross The Street To A New World." Phi Delta Kappan 94.6 (2013): 26-29. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2013. "Former ESL Students Tapped as Class Aides." Education Week 28 July 2004: 12. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. Sander, Libby. "In Helping Immigrant Students, Jesuit Colleges Seek To Lead The Way." Chronicle Of Higher Education 59.26 (2013): A10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. "Amy's Story." Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 329-333. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.