Spencer students receive ‘heart lesson’ on immigration
Students in Spanish 2 and 3 at the Spencer School District recently completed a unit on immigration and undocumented people who have come to America in search of opportunity from places that are dangerous and lack the opportunity to provide for their families. Through the unit, not only did the students have the chance to practice their Spanish by writing about the topic, but they also gained new perspectives by hearing firsthand accounts from immigrants.
The World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages emphasize a standard of communication. Students are to develop the ability to communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes. The recent lesson on immigration was targeted at the interpersonal communication standard, which creates opportunities for learners to interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed or written conversations in order to share information, reactions, feelings and opinions.
Students in the Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 classes read a bilingual novel, “Enrique’s Journey,” and viewed video clips from “Under the Same Moon,” a movie highlighting the journey of a young boy searching for his mom in America after she left him with friends and family in another country to find a better life for them in the United States. Students wrote essays about their observations, prior beliefs and current beliefs about this topic and how it affects nations, citizens, immigrants and everyone involved.
Lisa Vann, the Spanish teacher and English as a Second Language (ESL) program coordinator, was extremely proud of how the students completed the project.
“The students took the topic and analyzed a variety of sources to form educated opinions about immigration. I am proud of their openness and willingness to open their hearts and minds about a very sensitive topic that they took seriously,” Vann wrote in a press release. “During innovative lessons with open-ended projects, I learn more about my students and how I may serve them in the future. During deep classroom discussions, I also find that the teacher learns a great deal from her students, the determined and dedicated change agents of tomorrow. With these bilingual students leading the way, I am confident they will set out to make the world a better place. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Vann said that student comments in their essays demonstrated how strong the students are and how determined they are to respect one another and become more resilient while helping others to become resilient.
A foreign exchange student wrote, Pienso que voy a ver a estas personas con más compasión porque estoy segura que han pasado una vida poco fácil, meaning she thinks she is going to look at this population with more compassion because she is sure they have had a life that has been anything but easy. She added, Es verdad que la prosperidad de Estados Unidos depende de los trabajadores. She believes it is true that the prosperity of the United States depends on the working class.
Students also realized, through the journey of the character in the novel, that choices have consequences and we ought to be mindful of our decisions, as others will follow in our footsteps.
One student in Vann’s Spanish 2 class wrote, Mi perspectiva cambiaría porque no quisiera que mi hermanita sufriera lo que yo sufrí o que cometa los errores que yo cometí. She had a change of heart and realized her perspective had changed after reading the novel and watching the film, because she would not want her younger sister to suffer what she has suffered through due to her decision-making moments or to commit the mistakes she has committed in the past.
An Italian foreign exchange student enrolled in Spanish 3 stated, No sabia que habia tantos inmigrantes en Wisconsin y nunca pensé en el camino que tomaron para llegar aquí. Seguramente ahora siento más compasión pensando en todo el duro camino que han recorrido para llegar aquí. She had no prior knowledge that there could be so many immigrants in Wisconsin and she never thought about the journey they took in order to arrive here. She added that surely now she feels more compassion just thinking about the rough road that they have traveled in order to arrive here.
As a culmination of their study, students met Vann’s mother, Ana Maria Semino Macias-Wasserburger, and talked to her about how she came to the United States from Seville, Spain, and became a U.S. citizen. One student in Spanish 3 described her journey as “profoundly brave and honorable to come into a completely different country, with different customs and language, sacrificing themselves along the way to give their family a much greater opportunity and life.”
For Vann, the entire unit was an emotional one, dear to her heart.
“My mom came here to the United States with the hope of giving us a great life and never once let us forget the value of a solid education to obtain a great career that rewards us the rest of our lives,” wrote Vann. “Seeing her interact with my students has been the most rewarding experience of my teaching career. She trusted the hope in her heart for a better life and so many more people will benefit from that one decision she made years ago. If I can share her story with my students and inspire them to make a difference and make great decisions for the good of others, I have done my part to see her legacy of hope and determination lives on.”
Ana Maria Semino Macias-Sanchez Wasserburger celebrates her arrival in the U.S. from Seville, Spain.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Students in Spencer Spanish classes got to interact with Ana Maria Semino Macias-Sanchez Wasserburger, mother of Lisa Vann, K-12 Spanish educator at the Spencer School District. Students enjoyed making quesadillas and talking with Vann’s mother about life in Seville, Spain, and her journey to become a U.S. citizen years ago.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
