{"id":12510,"date":"2018-06-21T05:43:02","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T05:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=12510"},"modified":"2018-06-22T05:47:35","modified_gmt":"2018-06-22T05:47:35","slug":"how-refugee-children-make-american-education-stronger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/how-refugee-children-make-american-education-stronger\/","title":{"rendered":"How refugee children make American education stronger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shawna Shapiro<\/a>, Middlebury College<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, there has been a great deal of public angst<\/a> about refugee resettlement in the U.S. and Europe. Americans are deeply divided on the issue. For instance, a Pew Research Center study<\/a> published in May of this year found that only a quarter of Republicans and right-leaning independents say the U.S. \u201chas a responsibility to accept more refugees,\u201d compared with almost three-quarters of Democrats and left-leaning independents.<\/p>\n

Policies under the Trump administration reflect this division: The number of refugees being resettled to the United States<\/a> in 2017 was just over 50,0000 \u2013 less than half the number from 2016. The decline is even sharper for 2018, since the administration lowered the annual cap to 45,000 refugees<\/a>. Fewer admissions also means a decrease in numbers of students with refugee backgrounds in U.S. public schools.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Those who see refugees as a drain on public resources might view these declines as a positive. However, qualitative research published recently in my co-edited book, \u201cEducating Refugee-background Students: Critical Issues and Dynamic Contexts<\/a>,\u201d suggests that this trend represents a loss to our schools and communities. <\/p>\n

Having fewer students with refugee backgrounds, I argue, may result in missed opportunities for learning among all U.S. students \u2013 particularly when it comes to preparing them for global citizenship, civic responsibility and perseverance both inside and outside of the classroom.<\/p>\n

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\n <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Proponents of education reform in the U.S. often cite global citizenship<\/a> as an important piece of college and career readiness, as well as engaged citizenship. At the crux of global citizenship is an awareness of one\u2019s place in the world and a sense of openness to different viewpoints.<\/p>\n

Many current K-12 education reforms have placed strong emphasis on global citizenship and cross-cultural engagement. Such reform efforts include the Framework for 21st Century Learning<\/a> and the Common Core State Standards<\/a>. Global citizenship and cross-cultural engagement have also been the focus of curricular innovation within higher education<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Cultural artifacts, diverse perspectives<\/h2>\n

In a chapter by Bryan Ripley Crandall, an associate professor of education at Fairfield University, Somali-born student writers describe ways they contribute to their peers\u2019 cross-cultural understanding. They share information about family heirlooms, colonial history on the African continent and the legacy of slavery in the U.S. One student created a Facebook page where he and his friends discuss history and post their own creative writing. A poem posted on the page, entitled \u201cHistory Should Come First,\u201d opens with these lines:<\/p>\n

I wish I can take you back, time,\r\nwhen African pride was still shining. \r\nAfrican king was more than a dream.\r\nConsider it supreme and heart of the lion,\r\nbefore children suffer and are dieing (sic),\r\nbefore bullet was already flying\r\nbefore leaders was already lying\r\nkilling wrong people so.\r\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Another piece of global citizenship is understanding and responding to prejudice. In her chapter about Muslim students from Iraq, Amy Pucino, an assistant professor of sociology at the Community College of Baltimore County, has documented the strategies her students use to respond to Islamophobic and xenophobic comments from peers. After being called a \u201cterrorist,\u201d for example, one student tells his peers: \u201cHold on a second. The (U.S.) army, when they came to Iraq, killed my uncle and killed my best friend. And they killed this and that person. Were you included in that? \u2026 No, you don\u2019t have anything to do with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding their way<\/h2>\n
Many students with refugee backgrounds want to be not only global citizens but social change agents. This is illustrated in a research collaboration between Erin Papa, a dual language facilitator in the Pawtucket School Department, and students of Cambodian and Guatemalan heritage. The students used photography and writing to suggest ways the schools and community could be more culturally responsive. Students criticized local police for lack of cultural sensitivity, pointing out that officers sometimes removed a religious string known as a \u201cksai-see-ma\u201d from the wrists of Cambodian students during an arrest, claiming the string could be used as a weapon. \u201cI get so scared whenever I lose my ksai-see-ma,\u201d one student explained. \u201cThis is a big deal \u2026 it means a lot because without it you\u2019re open to evil spirits, like, messing with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n            \"\"
\n              Ksai-see-ma.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This line of research also offers insights into the nature of resilience, another focus of much discussion lately<\/a> in U.S. education. In her study of autobiographical narratives from Rohingya youth, Kristiina Montero, an associate professor of education at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, finds evidence of self-healing, expressed in statements of religious faith and a commitment to community service.  <\/p>\n
\"TheThe examples cited in the book represent just a sampling of the many ways that students with refugee backgrounds can and do contribute to American classrooms. Rather than seeing refugees as a drain on resources, I believe educators and policymakers should consider how to tap in more fully to the assets these students and their families bring to U.S. schools and communities.<\/p>\n
Shawna Shapiro<\/a>, Associate Professor of Writing and Linguistics; Director of Writing & Rhetoric Program, Middlebury College<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shawna Shapiro, Middlebury College In recent years, there has been a great deal of public angst about refugee resettlement in the U.S. and Europe. Americans are deeply divided on the issue. For instance, a Pew Research Center study published in May of this year found that only a quarter of Republicans and right-leaning independents say […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":12504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292],"tags":[4682,1077],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12510"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12510"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12511,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12510\/revisions\/12511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}