Teachable Moments
Monday, April 26, 2010
Immigration is Nothing New
We have to be so very careful about how we treat other people. The
newsworthy story about stricter immigration laws in Arizona has struck
the nerve of many people across this nation. If we were to take a close
look at the history books, we would soon discover that the Pilgrims were
also Immigrants. For sure, Native Americans were the indigenous people
of the Americas. It is a teachable moment as educators when we pause to
think of the thousands of children whose lives would be devastated by the
sudden extrication of their parents, grandparents or other loved ones!
Are our borders safer when we force hard working and family oriented people
to leave the area where they have also invested time, energy and money?
I would encourage all classroom teachers to allow some instructional time
for students to voice their concerns, questions or feelings on
this topic. Educators will be more enriched by yielding to the voices of our youth.
They have a lot to say!
newsworthy story about stricter immigration laws in Arizona has struck
the nerve of many people across this nation. If we were to take a close
look at the history books, we would soon discover that the Pilgrims were
also Immigrants. For sure, Native Americans were the indigenous people
of the Americas. It is a teachable moment as educators when we pause to
think of the thousands of children whose lives would be devastated by the
sudden extrication of their parents, grandparents or other loved ones!
Are our borders safer when we force hard working and family oriented people
to leave the area where they have also invested time, energy and money?
I would encourage all classroom teachers to allow some instructional time
for students to voice their concerns, questions or feelings on
this topic. Educators will be more enriched by yielding to the voices of our youth.
They have a lot to say!