I'm an Immigrant and I'm a Human

For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez’s essay “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, the author

Mr. Board Chair... Colleagues and Friends. I am an immigrant. Three years ago, I recounted my story as an immigrant to this great nation, of how I became a successful family physician, and of the great sacrifices by my family and especially my father in helping me to get here. Today, again I stand before you. I 'd like to tell you my story as a digital immigrant. Yes. I am a digital immigrant and like most of you, I was not born with a silver iPad in front of my face. I was able to apply the same immigrant ethics to work and with optimism and resiliency, I am able to successfully adapt to this brave new digital world.

Seven years earlier, I migrated to Hawaii when I was twenty-three. I had flown away from my mother and my life in the Philippines. Like young adults and being rebellious, I wanted to live on my own away from my mother 's roof. I left the city life I grew up with in the Philippines in hope of a better life in another country.

Ronald Takaki’s chapter in his sweeping 1989 text, Strangers from a Different Shore, “Dollar a Day, Dime a Dance: The Forgotten Filipinos”, outlines the experiences of primarily male Filipino immigrants to the U.S in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The author did a good job showing what the Filipino went through. Like many immigrants before them, they came seeking work and a better livelihood. They faced backbreaking work, low wages, and at time, extreme racism. However, in many ways the Filipino immigrant experiences were extremely different from other ethnic groups, the Chinese and Japanese immigrants.

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” (-Mark Twain) Being a child of immigrant parents who move to American can be hard. There is a lingering feeling of not feeling like a child belongs. They are stuck in the invisible world between where their parents came from, in this specific case, Asia and where the child lives now. It can be difficult to be raised as an Asian American and learning both culture and traditions. Many Asian American kids end up deviating from the Asian culture and embracing the American culture. However, children of immigrants should embrace their own culture in order to keep traditions alive and be proud of who they are.

San Francisco today is not the same place it was hundreds of years ago. This is obvious in terms of the city’s modernization, but a change that is equally as important, is the huge amount of diversity in cultures. Chances are, if you were to ask a student at Skyline College if their parents were born in the United States, many of them would answer no. Every immigrant has their own story of how they ended up in San Francisco, but the most important are the stories of the very first groups. Most first generation Filipino Americans hear about the stories of how their families ended up in the United States, but never the stories of how the very first Filipinos got here. Why did the first group of Filipinos leave all that they had in the the

I believed that acculturating into the the lifestyle would be simple since my parents instilled in me the customs and values of the Filipino people. The first couple of days were great, but then everything became unbearable. The Filipino culture had overwhelmingly taken over my life from the food to the customs to the language. I would watch TV which barked indecipherable gibberish at me, I would meet a family member that I never knew existed and was expected to become best friends with, and I would eat the cuisine when in my mind I wanted Burger King. I sensed that there was pressure to assimilate into the Filipino culture, which only made me want to hold on tighter to my American one. This had caused me to lose the motivation and confidence in making an effort to venture off and experience the culture for myself. I had the opportunity to explore, converse, and spend quality time with my relatives, yet I had taken every single moment for

I am an Asian-American woman living and working in the global city of New York. Growing up in an international city allowed me to become a multicultural individual and develop into a young woman different from my counterparts in Asia and here in the United States as well. I was taught by my parents not only the values of a Chinese culture but also to strive to enhance my strengths and to go forth and establish a successful career in business while always relating back to my Chinese roots. These values of diligence, perseverance and selflessness influence my everyday work and personal life.

S. R. is a 31-year old soft spoken Filipino female. Her primary language is English. Her family dialect of Tagalog is understood, but not spoken fluently. Tagalog is the national language in the Philippine society, and English is the second official language. (McBride, 2001) Presently she resides in Pearland Texas with her husband and 20 month old daughter. Born and raised in Webster Texas she is of Filipino ancestry, and considers herself “Asian American” (personal communication, August 20, 2010). Her father and mother were born in the Philippines. They

The analysis of policy in regards to impacts on students, families and community, leads to a discussion of problems within our society and their influence on the very policies created to respond to these circumstances. Within the educational sphere, all polices contribute to the lives and educational experiences of every student and as a result, their families and the community. This case study looks at the Department of Education and Training [DET] Diversity and Equity policy and outlines a school-based scenario that analyses diversity and equity within the classroom. The case study analyses the policy and scenario to formulate discussion about how students, families and communities can be impacted by diversity and equity and

Filipino migration to the United States has been influenced by political and social relationships between the two countries. Annexation, war, and labor demand are among the most influential impacts that led to mass immigration in the US. Those who were trying to escape violence and poverty took the chance to live as low-wage workers or enlisted under in the military. However, just like other minority groups, the Filipino immigrant experienced was not immune to the racial and social obstacles in their pursuit of the American Dream. As a Filipino American I believe that to truly understand myself, its essential to learn the history of those who came before me.

Over the course of this spring semester, I have spent 40 hours volunteering at numerous locations. These locations include Lumpkin County, Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (INK!), the 2016 Science Olympiad, the Science Workshop, South Hall middle school parent nights and also field trips on the Gainesville Campus. As I observed at these locations and events, there is a great diversity of students, not only ethnically but learning styles, behaviors, motivation for success. There was also an array of age, gender, exceptionalities, socio-economic status (SES), cultural backgrounds along with many different educational aspects. I also had the privilege in some of these locations to witness parent involvement and reactions, which I think is very important in the education of students. In this class, we learned about educational psychology and how to incorporate it into our teaching, classrooms and even outside of our classrooms. I chose to discuss exceptional learners, student diversity and assessment. There are many factors that make a student care for education and furthering their education. I feel through the locations I was able to observe and the content of the course has helped me to find ways to better engagement for my classroom as a future educator. Hall County is where many of my observation hours were completed and also the county in which the University of North Georgia – Gainesville campus is. Hall county is populated by forty-seven percent of Caucasians. Hispanics

The United States of America is known for being a country filled with people of many different ethnic backgrounds. Likewise, the student population in schools is just as diverse as it continues to grow. Lynch (2015) notes that schools are expected to teach their students “how to synthesize cultural differences into their knowledge base” as this will help “facilitate students’ personal and professional success in a diverse world” (para. 8). Educators must be able to provide for the diverse needs of students and are expected to equip students with skills that can lead to healthy development as it can affect higher levels of student achievement and students have more opportunities of success in their future. Providing students with tools and skills requires an awareness and acceptance of their ethnic identity. Once students have developed self-acceptance about their ethnic identity, they can begin to feel empowered and motivated to do well. Through cultural empowerment, students of color can develop intrinsic motivation and achieve academic success.

After our discussions in class and reflecting on the readings it made me think more critically about the efforts actually put forth to young kids ad their communities. The fact that programs are not always implemented help a kids growing up experience to the best of their ability due to the lack of concern if it is another race or ethnicity is heart wrenching. As time goes on I like to think those thoughts and bystanders have passed but that is not always the case. The environment in which someone grows up in has a lot to say about his or her character and future holdings as an individual. After seeing the effect CBPR had in the reading “Engaging Homeless Youth in Community- Based Participatory Research: A Case Study from Skid Row, Los Angeles” was impactful in the fact they video tapped the condition, discriminations and harassment one faced in a multicultural society. I know where I grew up it was definitely considered diverse after

Our country is rich in culture; the occupation of the Spanish, the American, and the Japanese gave the Philippines its diverse and unique culture. This exceptional culture we have in our country has produced numerous brilliant individuals, who up to this day are still well recognized. So it is safe to say that part of the reason why they became who they were is because of their culture; because of our culture. (Ong, 2011)