New Immigrants Share Their Stories

Summary

In this video, students from St. Luke's Middle School in Manhattan visit Newcomers High School in Queens to connect with immigrant students and learn about their personal experiences. Through conversations, the students from different backgrounds discuss immigration, adapting to life in the U.S., and overcoming challenges. The project fosters mutual understanding and breaks down stereotypes. By sharing their immigration stories, the newcomers reveal the difficulties they faced while seeking better opportunities. The collaboration leads to greater empathy, with both groups realizing the importance of compassion and unity in addressing these complex issues.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Students from St. Luke's Middle School in Manhattan visited Newcomers High School in Queens to discuss immigration on a personal level.
• 📚 Newcomers High School is for newly arrived immigrants, and its students are English language learners from over 50 countries who speak more than 60 languages.
• 👧 A student shared her experience of facing gender discrimination and how her family immigrated due to economic struggles in Ecuador.
• 😢 Another student spoke about moving to the U.S. to escape the Civil War in Congo, where their father was a victim of the conflict.
• 🤝 The 'Building Bridges' project involves students from both schools sharing personal immigration stories and collaborating on research papers.
• ✍️ The students begin their collaboration by writing letters to each other before meeting in person to foster deeper understanding.
• 🎯 Immigrant students are striving to break the perception that they are a threat, emphasizing their desire to contribute to society and achieve better lives.
• 🔧 The St. Luke's students learned about their buddies' future aspirations, such as becoming an electrician or mechanic, changing their perspective on immigrants.
• 😔 One student was moved to tears during an interview, highlighting the emotional impact of discussing immigration challenges.
• 📖 The final essays from the project will be compiled into a book, showcasing the students' shared experiences and hopes for unity.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the project between St. Luke’s Middle School and Newcomers High School?

The project focuses on fostering understanding between students from St. Luke's Middle School in Manhattan and immigrant students at Newcomers High School in Queens by discussing personal immigration stories and human rights issues.

What challenges do students at Newcomers High School face?

Students at Newcomers High School, who are newly arrived immigrants, face challenges such as learning a new language, adapting to a different culture, and dealing with difficult personal experiences, such as family hardships and escaping conflicts.

Why do students from Newcomers High School share their immigration stories with students from St. Luke’s?

The students share their immigration stories to help the St. Luke’s students better understand the struggles immigrants face, including the difficulties of adjusting to life in the U.S. and the personal hardships they endured to get there.

How does the relationship between the students evolve during the project?

The relationship evolves through letter writing and face-to-face meetings, where students build personal connections, learn about each other’s lives, and begin to break down preconceived ideas about immigration.

What impact did the immigration stories have on St. Luke’s students?

St. Luke's students were deeply moved by the personal immigration stories, learning about the hardships faced by their immigrant peers. Some expressed surprise at how difficult the immigrants' lives were and gained a new perspective on the issue.

What are some of the dreams and goals shared by the immigrant students?

Some immigrant students shared their goals of becoming professionals such as an electrician or a mechanic, expressing their aspirations to lead responsible, productive lives in the U.S.

Why are immigration stories difficult for some students to share?

Immigration stories are difficult for some students to share because they involve painful memories, such as escaping civil wars, losing family members, and facing discrimination or hardship in their home countries.

How does this project help dispel negative perceptions about immigrants?

The project helps dispel negative perceptions by allowing St. Luke’s students to personally connect with immigrant students and hear firsthand their struggles and contributions, helping to show that immigrants are not a threat but are working to build better lives.

What challenges did a student from Congo face in their immigration journey?

A student from Congo shared that their family fled the country due to a civil war, and their father became a victim of the conflict, making their immigration journey particularly painful.

What long-term impact do the teachers hope this project will have on the students?

The teachers hope that this project will foster empathy and understanding, encouraging students to build bridges between different cultures and backgrounds, and possibly reduce racial and cultural discrimination in the future.