Differences Build a Stronger Community

Let me take you on a true Wakefield Lower School multi-cultural journey. At the doorway of the third grade classroom, we see that it has been transformed into a traditional Ghanaian hut, and we are greeted with a hearty “Akwaaba!” - their word for welcome. Here, our third graders were immersed in the culture, folklore, geography and music of Ghana. As we move down the hall we pick up our second graders, and venture into First Grade where we hear a first-hand account of life in Kurdistan. Who are the Kurds, and what are their beliefs and traditions? We enjoy a traditional meal together of Dolma and baklava as we learn about them, listen to Kurdish music and celebrate their New Year together.

Venturing further down the hall, we encounter two Upper School girls in sparkling, bright dresses performing an Irish dance. My role in each of these occasions was that of quiet observer. What did I saw was lots of curious, engaged students, asking questions, trying new foods, smiling and laughing as they embraced working hard together.  

Now we wander upstairs to the library, where we engage with a group of Lower School parents who are sharing stimulating conversation about how Differences Build a Stronger Community. We start with our core similarity - how, as humans in this community, we care about one another and we have values that keep us centered. We dig a bit deeper to discover the different lenses in which we see the world. Which lens do we use to focus our perspective as we interact within and outside of our community?  Many observations were made that morning. A few said they rely on their spiritual lens - and different religious backgrounds were represented in our group. Some spoke of their position as an immigrant, and how our society has a vision of what an immigrant “looks like.” Others interact through their languages, traditions and the multiple experiences of life in the United States and throughout the world.

We walked away that morning with a clear understanding that the more information we have about the backgrounds of our students and families, the more successful we as adults will be interacting with our children and students. We acknowledged how important it is for all of our students to experience differences in a respectful, caring environment in order to be prepared for the world we live in. These conversations can be difficult; the most important thing is to get the dialog started, and we were all very happy that we did.  We look forward to future conversations with all of you!  Please check out Mrs. Hurst’s Character Counts bulletin board showing the flowers that bloomed as a result of our conversations.

Moving Beyond the Limitations of My Language.....

❝The limits of my language are the limits of my world.❞

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

I feel fortunate and honored to volunteer and work with my adult ESOL students through the Loudoun Literacy Council. I must say I have come full circle; I started my career as an adult ESOL instructor in Quito, Ecuador 27 years ago. Since then I have taught all ages, both ESOL, Spanish and Core subjects. But for the past 20 years I have been working with elementary age children. I finally found the time to reconnect with teaching English to adults and it has been invigorating. 

If there is one thing I have taken away from my experience this past year; it is that these students have lofty goals, determination, persistence and a will to succeed. They truly amaze me. It is my job to communicate my high expectations of them, and to support and encourage them to reach their goals. 

At the start of each class I ask them to answer two questions: What are your learning goals for this class, and what are your professional or personal goals?

These students have high expectations of themselves; they want to do grand things in our county and country, but they do indeed feel limited by their language abilities, and they are working hard to move beyond these limitations. Let me share with you a few of their goals.

To become a confident writer.

To pass the NOVA ESL entrance Exam

To go to College and get an MBA.

To communicate better in order to have better relationships with people.

To own my own charity in order to help people as there is nothing more important than helping people to have a better society.

My students talk a lot about confidence; they want to be confident communicators; employees, citizens. “You can do it! Go for it!” is what I consistently say to them.

Now let me share a story about my first Loudoun Literacy student.

I have had the pleasure of working with Hodan, for just over a year. Hodan will not settle for anything less than her best nor will she accept an easy assignment. I will give her an essay topic and her response will often be, no that is too familiar; I need to write about something to push me out of my comfort zone. Let me share with you an excerpt from Hodan’s very first essay.

                          Hodan Farah Story

My Name is Hodan Farah. I am married and have two beautiful children. I am originally from Somalia and I have lived in Europe for over 10 years. When I left Somalia I was 14 years old so it was due to the civil war. Lucky, we left Somalia save and arrived to Europe where I continue my studies. At that time, my parents were leaving in America and they had duplicate citizenship. They applied for me so that we can be reunited with the family. I came to the USA in 1994 and was very fortunate to have a supportive family. At that time, due to the different cultural life was not easy to for me so I had to adopt whether if it is a job or overall.  Now, I feel like I am Americanized, but, still I need to increase my English language I hope I learn and reach out my goal this year. Thank you for reading my story.

Following is an excerpt from an essay she wrote for our 8^th lesson. Please pay attention to the nuances, idioms, details and sense of humor.

My search for the perfect dress

      It is a week away from my best friend’s wedding and I still don’t have anything to wear. Now lying down in my bed, watching a movie I saw a dress that inspired me, a red dress. Concerned about the fact that the wedding is just a week away, I went to Dulles Town center in search of my perfect dress. Moreover, when I got to the mall I did not see a lot of choices to choose from and I was very particular about finding a red dress. I only had a $100 dollars to spend. Come to find out evening gowns are very costly L. I went to Lord and Taylor, a friend of mine said they have a big selection of evening gowns. I tried several dresses on but nothing was appealing. With my designated budget, I headed on to Nordstrom hoping I might find a bargain from the sale racks. The attendee at the dress salon was very helpful, and I liked the dresses they had; however, my budget would not allow me to purchase my dress there. Next, I had to catch my breath after trying to shop; I stopped by the smoothie stand to order my favorite drink, a mango and pineapple smoothie. I chugged it down so fast I got brain freeze. After cooling myself down with my drink, my search for the perfect dress continued on to J C Penney’s where I hoped to find the dress.

      After a long search, and back and forth trips to the fitting room, I finally found the perfect, red, wrap, dress that I was searching for. Now that I found the dress, I am looking forward to going to my friend’s wedding. I cannot wait to have fun and put on my red dress with my lovely silver shoes.

Hodan has wonderful stories, although sometimes they are heart wrenching. I have learned about her country, her religion, her family, her beliefs, values and traditions. I have worked with her to write a resume and a cover letter. She knows I am here to support and help her, but never to judge her. She has opened up my world to new perspectives and I believe I have done the same for her.

I would frequently tell her how wonderful her stories were. I first encouraged her to start her own blog. “No, I am not ready for that.” OK I said and then the next week, I showed up and said, “Can I write about you and publish it on my blog.” Ok, she said. “But maybe you should change my name.” I can do that, I said. So when I showed up the next week with my published blog entry. She said, “Why did you change my name? No I don’t want you to change my name anymore.” OK, I said and entered Hodan. When I spoke to Hodan two weeks ago She said, “ Oh, and I want you to know, I am ready to write a book about My Story.” My response was, Well, I hope I can be your editor!”  Now, that is a sign of confidence.

Thank you Loudoun Literacy Council for all that you do in providing English language learning opportunities that open up a world of possibilities for our county residents and thank you for allowing me to be part of it.   

Remember:

❝The limits of my language are the limits of my world.❞

- Ludwig Wittgenstein