I loved watching the CUNY-IIE videos on how to support immigrants in schools and even recognized some of the institutions they mentioned in the city. I remember getting the opportunity to hear from Tatyana Kleyn at the CUNY-IIE PK-12 Immigration Literature Conference in March, so it was great to see her in the video as well. I think the organization is doing some really amazing work for both students and fac/staff in public schools, and it’s the kind of institutional support I wish my peers and I had during our time in the NYCPS system.
Hearing the account of the teacher that traveled to Nepal and connected one of her students to their sister living in the refugee camp via video chat was very inspiring. I also thought it was great how the teacher was able to reflect on and critically engage with experience, taking it as a learning opportunity to understand the cultural and linguistic context in which many of her students are from. I also really enjoyed hearing the Bangla spoken from the student Shahnaz!!
I was a bit wary of the section where a leader in the school community mentioned bringing in the FBI and Buffalo PD to have conversations with families and hear their concerns. While I think it’s important to demystify these organizations and allow families to express their needs and questions, I’m unsure if it’s possible to build a genuine rapport with institutions that are founded on principles of racism/racial profiling and violence. In the local context perhaps, it made sense for community members to try to understand what these orgs were doing concerning immigration and immigrants. Maybe this is a pessimistic take, but I wouldn’t want these dialogues to confuse the relationship between governing institutions and communities of predominantly immigrants. I am not of the belief that we can trust these organizations, especially when they’re not above separating people from their families or essentially kidnapping people.
Safeguards against ICE in public schools are so important, and I appreciated the section on educators acting as advocates. It’s up to institutions like schools to protect the community and their students. Workshops on topics such as know your rights and trauma informed teaching practices are key, not only for families but educators as well. Educators definitely exist in a position of power and more should look to engage families on current political issues when possible/appropriate in order to demonstrate understanding and care for their students.