I come from a small town, Franklin, Ohio where change was not as common as what an immigrant child might experience in moving to America. I went to school with the same friends through 12th grade and stayed involved in the same activities as my friends were in. My school was mostly middle class, suburban people and most had similar beliefs in common. So its easy to say that diversity did not exist so much in my hometown. I never experienced moving a lot, having to make new friends, or even having to learn new languages to get by. This, however, is a different story for an immigrant child who experiences most if not all of these culture shocks and changes in their lifestyle. My childhood seemed difficult while I was young. I worried about things like playing outside, whether my mom would let me hang out with my friends, or would my mom buy me candy when she went to the store. Seems ridiculous to think about thoughts like that know that I am an adult and have a child of my own. On the other hand though, these worries are nothing compared to what an immigrant child has to worry about. And for that I am truly blessed I did not have a rough childhood and I am able to have compassion for those children who do struggle, whether it be homeless children, immigrant children or children from abusive families. I have that desire to want to reach out to as many children as I can and just be there for them to talk to and get things off their chests. I feel this mentor program is an excellent opportunity to do just that!
Other:
My mentee, Jenny, is a recent immigrant child from Honduras who has only been in America for about 9 months. I am already familiar with her from tutoring her at AMIS during the school day in Math. She struggles with her English but does what she can to get by. From what I have gathered her family consists of her mom, dad, and younger brother. They do not have a phone or computer. So communication with her outside of AMIS and our mentor program will be challenging. However, I will be able to talk with her on the days I am tutoring her in her schoolwork. Besides having the barrier of communication, she is excellent and excels in her work at AMIS. She gets her work done without any distractions and always asks questions when she does not understand something. I have noticed that she often seems overwhelmed by the constant struggle in communication that I have to help her calm down so she does not get frustrated. I feel that she probably deals with other issues from being an immigrant and having difficulty getting by in daily life.
No comments:
Post a Comment