We ARE Americans

Professor William Perez of Claremont Graduate University has been concerned about the fate of undocumented students, many of whom do well in school and then find the door to a college education shut in their face. These students have learned to respect their identity in the classroom, but are considered as non-persons when they leave school.

In 'We ARE Americans' Profiles Undocumented Students NPR's All things Considered of August 22, 2009, host Guy Raz interviewed Professor Perez and a former undocumented student, Nora Preciado, who did prevail to become an immigration lawyer.

I think my experience is typical of a lot of undocumented students, especially as a teenager. I can only describe it as feeling invisible in this country when I was growing up.
(Raz)

When she arrived in this country she knew no English, so she was placed in remedial courses for many years, even though she had been an honors student in Mexico.
(I too experienced being "stupid" after I moved to Denmark until I learned the language and culture. I even had colleagues at the high school where I taught as a fully qualified teacher who would try to find errors in my Danish or cultural understanding, which always felt demeaning.)
But she wanted to be like the others, and ended up succeeding in high school, only to realize with shock that she couldn't attend university or even travel. But with the help of an understanding guidance counselor she managed to fulfil her dreams.

Professor Perez found that many of these young people end up in the alternative economy instead of becoming productive citizens. But the 180 students he interviewed for the book are different.

They don't really have a lot of options. I mean, the students that I profiled in the book are students that have decided to pursue that goal despite the challenges that they face. And so, you know, they work multiple jobs in addition to maintaining high grades in their classes, and also responsibilities that they have at home, a lot of them are still helping their parents.

But one of the most surprising findings was the high levels of community service that these students were involved in. Ninety percent of the students that I surveyed had participated in some form of volunteer work. Everything from food drives to voter registration, which I found, you know, particularly interesting, because even though they themselves can't vote, they wanted to make sure that other people didn't take for granted that privilege that they didn't have.
(Raz)

As the title says, these students' have "American" as part of their identity now - they ARE Americans. We must help them live that part as well. I look forward to helping all of my students achieve their potential, supported by colleagues, teachers, classmates - and of course, my students.