Week 7; Jonathan Hilton

Week 7: Culture and Relationships

When I was volunteering with the K-2 group on Friday for Field Day, I saw something that amazed me. When the teachers spoke to the children in Spanish, all of the students who didn't speak Spanish still understood them. When the teachers spoke to the children in English, all of the students who didn't speak English still understood them. When a command was issued, everyone obeyed, no matter what language the teacher giving the order used.

Here, non-francophone children are taking directions from their teacher--in French.

How was this possible? I soon noticed that all of the students were simply looking to their peers for direction when they didn't understand. When Michelle (Prinzo) said, "Clap once if you hear my voice," only the English-speaking students clapped the first time. When Michelle continued, "Clap twice if you hear my voice," everyone clapped twice--the Spanish-speaking students quickly copied the actions of their peers.

If the children at Field Day find themselves having to copy one another, I can only imagine how strong the “pressure to assimilate” that Igoa discusses at page 104 must be. The reality is, for these children, assimilation doesn’t appear to be an option: it’s a survival skill. Immigrant children will look toward their peers for guidance, perhaps even at the cost of not relying on their parents (as we read about in Suarez-Orozco on parent/child relationships). Luckily, the Field Day at AMIS focused on integration rather than assimilation in its overall spirit: children wore the flags of their countries painted on their faces and celebrated their own heritage. Although the “need to assimilate” may be a “survival skill,” the ability to integrate instead (that is, to retain some of one’s cultural identity rather than losing it all in the face of a new culture) will help them psychologically in the future.

"Integration" in a sea of loneliness