Kids Are Our Future

A variety of conditions compel emigration from a homeland to a new country. Different immigrants came to the United States with different purposes. Some of them want to pursue increased economic opportunity, some are looking for a chance to reunite with their family members, and some want to seek freedom from political or religious persecution. Some are pulled to the United States by the hope of a higher standard of education and living. These immigrants are often highly trained professionals and white-collar college-educated people who enjoyed high social and family status in their home cultures. They want to seek a better life for their children and sacrificed their well-built up present.

The varied background including political, economic, and social conditions on immigration means that different immigrants arrive with different expectations about and attitudes toward their new life, which affect their adjustment in the new country. For example, some immigrants arrive with the intention of becoming citizens of the United States, while others plan only temporary stays.

Immigration to a new country has never been easy, because usually immigrants start with little money and it is not easy for them to find a job, they experience poverty, and dangerous and intolerable situations jeopardizing their health and survival. In addition, immigration sometimes means dealing with ethnic, racial, and language biases. For many immigrant families there are many new social rules and norms to learn, some of them will find their basic beliefs and values challenged, and some behaviors that served well in their home culture may not be easily accepted in the new country. When it comes to educate their children, immigrant parents have even more obstacles because of the cultural conflicts.

All immigrant families must confront the following major challenges:

1. How to learn about a new culture
2. How to handle conflicts between home culture and new culture
3. How to survive in a new environment
4. How to thrive in a new environment

The following are some key factors affecting the experience of immigrants to adjust to their life in the United States:

• BackgroundIncludes economic and social situation back in their home countries
• Reasons for immigrationSuch as want better education, better living condition, etc.
• Economic statusThose with more money have more chance to survive and thrive in the new country.
• Marketable skillsThe U.S. is a market-driven society, which needs marketable skills in order to make a living.
• Language issueEnglish proficiency is one of the basic and crucial factors.
• Immigrant statusSuch as family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, etc.
• Family and cultural supportsThose have family already in the U.S. and or cultural group support will be easier to make the transition than those who do not help.
• Cultural difference For those who have big difference, they have more challenge to handle cultural differences.
• Acceptance by U.S. mainstream societyIn order to assimilate into the new country, immigrants need to be acceptable by American mainstream
• Adjustment issuesThe more issues that the new immigrants need to adjust, the more difficulties they will face.

Each of these factors may affect the schooling experience of immigrant children. How parents and children of immigrant families learn and assimilate into the new country? In the same time, how they inherit their family values to take the advantage of their strength? How to help immigrant children to achieve? In the following several posts we want to share our thoughts and discuss these topics with you.

“Do in Rome as Rome does”

Most immigrants left their home country in search of a better way of life for their children. You could say that the parents sacrificed their well built-up present for a better future for their children. They stress that education is the step up and a way to assimilate into the new society. For immigrants, education is critical to success in new country.

It is tough for new immigrants on surviving and thriving in the new country with all the issues on employment, housing, and family support. For kids in immigrant family, in order to succeed in their schools, they have a lot of challenge including the needs to master English in a very short period, to be proficient in content areas, to develop cultural competence in the new country, etc.

Improve English proficiency

It is one of the most important issues for parents and kids in immigrant family to live in the U.S.

ESL

Here in the U.S. ESL (English as the Second Language) program is used to help immigrants transition successfully across formal and informal educational options. After kids attending school they are arranged into different English Language classes by their different English levels. ESL programs in Community center and adult schools help parents to learn and improve English free of charge.

Bilingual Schools

There are some schools, which provide bilingual classes, for example some schools have math class in which teachers use Chinese language besides they have math class in English language. For high school students, they just arrived in the new country and face college entrance exam soon such as SAT, this kind of options are really helpful for them.

Deal with cultural difference

Immigrant parents and children have cross cultural experience and or education. How to handle cultural differences, even cultural conflict is very tough for both of them. Usually most parents and kids adjust themselves to adapt to the new culture, just like the old word says “Do in Rome as Rome does”.

Solve adjustment issues

I believe many of us are and will be figuring out how to fit in and adapt to different environments our whole lives. When we are new, when we do not know anyone, when the environment is unfamiliar, when everything just seems so different, that’s when we have to learn how to fit in.

In order to be able to adapt to the new country really quickly, parents and kids have to learn together.

Here are some suggestions for parents and kids in immigrants’ family.

1. Be self confident

   There are many immigrants came here, the U.S from various countries around the world with different skin color and different culture. As a new immigrant, get comfortable in your own skin, which is the key to finding your place in any social group.

2. Be open minded and broad your view

   When we see something from different perspective, we know sometime, there is not only one answer and the best answer may depend on different situation. Immigrants came from different country have different value passed by their parents, while after came to a new home, new environment, firstly have to open your eyes, learn with open mind, see and experience more and broad your view, which are crucial for adapting to the new country.

3. Embrace change

   Whenever wherever we are, we should have courage and believes to our new lives. Life is a series of chapters and it is up to yourself to write your own story. Immigrants came to the new country with hope to have better life than before, and are ready for change. In order to get familiar with the social change, involving in local community is a great way to learn lived experience. It is also an effective way to learn English language and new culture.

4. Turn the pressure into motivation

   In the same time, change means challenge and obstacles, too much difficulty, especially the threat to new immigrants’ survival sure leads to stressful situations. Be optimistic and diligent, enjoy hard working wisely, celebrate every little victory, by doing so, new immigrants can turn the pressure into motivation and increase self confidence towards better life.

5. Create your fit

   In order to adapt to the new country, immigrants need to find their own place where they feel comfortable. Adjustment of yourself may be needed sometimes to find a fit for you. It is perfectly acceptable to change yourself to fit in with different social groups as long as you know why. I think we learn and intrinsically know what is best for us, in terms of what kind of environment we want to fit into.

In order to adapt to the new country, parents and kids in immigrants’ family need have courage, self confidence to overcome obstacles, need to be opening up to learn new culture, which can expand your horizons and discover new things opens doors for conversation and increases your chances of finding common ground, need to work hard to survive and thrive. While adapting to the new circumstances you should not forget what makes you unique, your advantages, which may be passed by your origin culture.

“Take in the essence and throw away the dross”

We mentioned that for new immigrants, they need follow the rule, “Do in Rome as Rome does” in the previous post, however, we still think that in the same time, immigrants should stick to the principle, which is “take in the essence and throw away the dross”. Namely, try to fit in without selling out. While we all struggle with “fitting in” for the entirety of our lives, we do have our own believes and principles.

Strong family values help immigrant children grow up stronger

Growing up most immigrant children encountered the obstacles of poverty and minority status, such as the need to work, the constant reminder that they were outsiders. However, strong family values helped them focus on the opportunities and mental toughness to overcome the obstacles. Within immigrant family, they feel rich in health, blessed with life and challenged by their parents to be decent, hard-working people, which turn into great motivators.

Family obligation motivates immigrant children to achieve

One of the top reasons for immigrants regardless of their educational level, financial standing, or country of origin, to come to the United States is a desire to provide better educational and economic opportunities to their families and children. Most of the children in immigrant families are well aware of their parents’ motivations for coming to the United States, and by the time they reach adolescence, they acknowledge their parents’ efforts and sacrifices, and use these as sources of motivation for trying to succeed in American society.

Family obligation is defined as a collection of values and behaviors related to the children’s provision of support, assistance, and respect to their parents, siblings, and other family members. These norms of children assisting the family exist within the cultural traditions of many immigrants’ native countries, and they act as a very significant role as immigrant families attempt to adapt to a new and different society.

Motivate them to be valuable to their family

Children from immigrant families expressed a strong sense of obligation to support, assist, and respect the family. They feel strongly about helping their families and believe it is an important aspect of their immigrant and cultural heritage, which motivates them to work hard and be valuable to their family.

Motivate them to well-being

American society emphasizes on individuality and independence, which is very important to a child who becomes a grown up as an individual, not being dependent on their parents. While I think that we are human being who is social animal, we need help each other whenever we need help from others. When a family member needs help, we definitely need to help him or her, it is our responsibility. I believe this value and want to pass this value to my children wherever they are. A sense of obligation to the family can motivate children to well-being, to be kind and responsible person who can make a meaningful contribution to others.

By the research results, it has been consistently found that those with a greater sense of obligation to the family reported more positive psychological well-being and self-esteem, because adolescents and young adults feel that they play a valuable and important role in the family.

Motivate them to academic achievement

Most of us agree that nowadays college attendance is mandatory requirement for having a good job. Most contemporary immigrant parents understand it and have high educational aspirations for their children and emphasize the importance of doing well in school.

As a result, family obligation is a critical source of the strong academic motivation of immigrant children. For example, many of them believe that doing well in school is the best way for them to succeed as an adult. Research also shows that across immigrant groups from a variety of countries and ethnic backgrounds, students indicate a desire to do well in school in order to help their families and support them in the future.

Because children’s sense of obligation to their immigrant families affects their adaptation and adjustment in the United States and it also motivates them to their overall well-being, be a responsible person, achieve academically and achieve in their whole life. I strongly believe that immigrant family should pass the culture and value heritage of children assisting the family to their next generation.

The family is the strongest team

In order to survive and thrive in the new and different society, the family should work as a team, help each other, parents and children of immigrants should constantly learn and work hard. I believe with the priceless love between parents and their children, immigrant parents and children will succeed in the new society.