Student-Centered, Story-Driven Community Grants Awarded to Deserving Teachers

The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winners of the 2015-2016 Community Grants Program. The grant program is an initiative to provide educators and/or community organizers with the resources they need to implement a successful immigration curriculum or community-based project.

This year’s winners have developed student-centered storytelling projects that engage students and families in writing and sharing immigration stories, past and present, while also demonstrating the important and varied contributions of immigrants to our country. The awardees are Eldridge Park School, Lawrenceville, NJ and Charles F. Patton Middle School, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. 

 

According to Eldridge Park English Language Learner teacher Angeline Sturgis, “my objective in this project is to create a legacy for family members which clearly documents the motives, decision-making, action, and often bravery, that led to their arrival in this country, and the beginning of their lives as new Americans. I have realized that these stories go untold, especially to children, and believe that they can and should be recorded in some way. My idea combines the parents' stories with the artwork of their children for a truly cooperative effort that will be received by the community with awe and pride.” The intended result of Ms. Sturgis’s grant project, “Telling the Family Story,” will be a small library of student and parent authored books that can be shared among school and community members.  She also hopes to host an author reading.

The focus of “One World,” a project developed by middle school English Language Arts teacher Brian Kelley, is a student-centered and student-run classroom podcast modeled after Garrison Keillor’s podcast “The Writer’s Almanac.” These short podcasts would feature students discussing writing, books, immigrant family heritage and culture with an aim to exploring how culture influences youth and writers. Each podcast would also feature student writing. Eventually, Kelley has plans to see his students spreading the word about the podcast via social media and encouraging students from all over to send in their writing and to promote deeper discussions on culture and immigration. You can follow the project twitter account @Write1World  and visit the One World website which welcomes teens to submit essays, poetry, & short stories focused on family, culture, or heritage. 

Kelley has previously collaborated with the American Immigration Council providing accounts of his experience teaching digital storytelling on immigrant family heritage with students. To read his teaching tips, please click here.

Senior Manager of Education Claire Tesh, says, “Our grant program rewards classroom teachers and community leaders who have innovative ideas in integrating immigration issues into their teaching. In return, the American Immigration Council shares their results with the greater public through lesson plans, multimedia and other projects.”  Please join us in celebrating these two noteworthy projects and stay tuned as we follow their developments in the classroom.

For over the past decade, the American Immigration Council has been providing educators with funding for projects that support its mission of promoting the benefits of immigrants to our nation. This collaboration with motivated educators across the nation engages students and communities in thoughtful dialogues centered on the issue of immigration and multiculturalism. 

Please share this post with fellow educators to spread the word about the great work of these teachers.  To learn more about our 2015-2016 grant programs and resources, including how to apply, please click here. Our next deadline is November 5, 2015. Congratulations to our deserving and inspirational teachers!

Spotlight on International Youth Day: Students Opposing Slavery

-- contributed by Callie Hawkins, President Lincoln’s Cottage

In honor of International Youth Day this Wednesday, August 12th, we are highlighting a unique program where student leaders from around the world raise awareness and action against human trafficking and modern slavery.  Implemented each summer by the staff at President’s Lincoln’s Cottage, Students Opposing Slavery underscores the importance of youth voice for lasting change. To read the original piece excerpted here from Abhishek Basu, a participant in the program, please click here.  

For over a quarter of his presidency, Abraham Lincoln lived on an uplifting hilltop in Northwest Washington, D.C., where he made some of his most critical decisions. While in residence at the Cottage, Lincoln visited with wounded soldiers, spent time with self-emancipated people, and developed the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, “the Cradle of the Emancipation Proclamation” is open daily for the public to experience guided tours, award-winning exhibits, and innovative programs. 

President Lincoln’s Cottage uses Lincoln’s example to inspire visitors to take their own path to greatness and preserve this place as an authentic, tangible connection to the past and a beacon of hope for all who take up Lincoln’s unfinished work.

An International Youth Education Initiative

An example of our commitment to this work is Students Opposing Slavery (SOS), a youth program that raises awareness and action against human trafficking and modern slavery.

The cornerstone of the SOS program is the annual International Summit, a week-long program each June where 30 participants from across the globe engage with survivors of modern slavery, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to identify campaigns that they will launch in their own schools to raise awareness on modern slavery and get others involved in the contemporary fight against it. Following the Summit, students remain engaged with President Lincoln’s Cottage, and each other, for guidance as they take the movement back to their own communities. The most remarkable outcome of the Students Opposing Slavery International Summit is the emergence of an inspiring, new generation of abolitionists that gives hope to the anti-trafficking cause and strengthens President Lincoln’s Cottage’s dedication to continue Lincoln’s fight for freedom.

Student Voice

One such inspiring abolitionist is Abhishek Basu. Abhi attended the 2014 Summit, and wrote about his experiences with SOS for an essay contest organized by The Telegraph (Calcutta, India) in association with Apne Aap Women Worldwide. The following excerpt is taken from his winning article, originally published on July 20, 2014.

“I was one of the two fortunate people from India chosen to attend the Students Opposing Slavery (SOS) International Summit, which was a conference of young abolitionists around the world who have pledged to end modern slavery.

My heart skipped a beat when we arrived at President Lincoln’s Cottage where the conference was to be held. The place was surrounded by a burial ground for the thousands of soldiers killed in and after the Civil War. The atmosphere was electric. It was as if the ghosts of those valiant soldiers were chanting in unison and supporting our cause.

On arrival, we were taken on a tour of the Cottage. We could almost sense the presence of the great man himself. We were struck by some of the incidents of Lincoln’s life. His humility, his kindness, his dedication to his country and fellowmen and how good he was at checkers! This was the place where the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and Lincoln had once talked about his unfinished work. He understood that slavery hadn’t completely ended. Something within me felt that he was passing on the torch to all of us. For a moment there I truly believed that I had the power to impact millions of lives. A power that each and every one of us possesses.

At the Cottage, there were students of various nationalities, all united in this fight. That day made me realize the magnitude of the problem that we are facing. Human trafficking is far more than just a simple crime. A thriving 200 billion dollar industry that has its reach in every nation and culture across the globe.

The day ended for us on a high note as we did some fun team-building exercises and got to know each other. It was pleasurable to see how representatives of so many different countries became compatible with each other and after a point we were all each other’s best buddies. The discussion really got going on the second day when the students presented the problem from their country’s perspective.

The U.S., Moldova, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar, Philippines and, of course, India, each had a different perspective to add. Next we had a presentation by the MTV Exit Youth Leaders. MTV Exit is an organization that spreads awareness about human trafficking through music. Since music is one thing that is universally loved, it forms a great medium to foster awareness among people. This idea really excited me.

The next few days passed by like a whirlwind. We had speakers from various organizations address us.

What really impacted me was the account of a survivor named Poonam. She was 12 when she was trafficked from Nepal into India. Condemned to work in servitude in a brothel in Mumbai, Poonam managed to escape during a police raid. She is now 18, studies in Class X and dreams of becoming a social worker. She is a living testament to the fact that survival was possible. That we don’t have to cling on to the trauma of our past.

If there’s one thing I learnt from this trip, it is inspiration. The thought that I can make a difference. I left knowing that my journey had just begun.”

President Lincoln’s Cottage is a nontraditional “museum of ideas” that takes an unconventional look at Lincoln and engages our audience in groundbreaking scholarship and historical debates over human rights and cultural issues of relevance today. For more information, visit www.lincolncottage.org.

The American Immigration Council offers free lesson plans, resources, book/film reviews, and grants to #teachimmigration. We also welcome student reviews and contributions to our blog. Email us at teacher@immcouncil.org and follow us on twitter @ThnkImmigration.