Recently I had moments of special gratitude for the miracles public education can create for our students and families – moments that went above and beyond my everyday experiences.
Last week I ventured to Lincoln North Star High School to visit with several English Language Learner (ELL) students who were recently featured in the local news. They both had amazing stories to tell.
One student was 21 – bright and very personable – and had arrived here at 17 without knowing a word of English,. His parents took him out of Iraq when it was clear they were going to be killed by the government. In his home country, his father owned a factory and the family was considered well off. Since coming here they have struggled financially with the student trying to help support his family by working 40 hours a week at Sam’s Club. The young man told me he loved his time in school and was sad that he is aging out and must soon leave Lincoln Public Schools. He hopes to enlist in the military.
The other student – a junior in high school – had parents who were professionals in their homeland of Iran. They left their country voluntarily and not as refugees – when the young woman was in middle school – because there were no educational opportunities for their daughter after high school. Although this student knew no English upon arriving here, she is now on track to graduate on time and hopes to become a doctor.
I was fascinated with both stories, impressed with how much these two students had accomplished and learned in such a short period of time. I was also grateful that neither had ever felt bullied or ridiculed since arriving at North Star. They were thankful for their teachers and for their education.
I had another similar experience recently while speaking to a college class at Doane College. A graduate student who was from Sudan told me he was one of the “The Lost Boys of Sudan,” a group of children who had once been hunted by the thousands in their home country until the United States was able to rescue some and bring them here. This young man told me incredible stories of what he and his family had experienced and what being in America had meant to him. Many of his family members did not survive, but this young man was rescued, came to Nebraska and is now a supervisor at Lincoln Industries working on a Master’s Degree. He has three children in Lincoln Public Schools who are doing very well.
Too often we get hung up on a number or a percentage of children who come from other countries or speak other languages. Behind every single number is a young person trying to find their way. With great teachers and sufficient resources, they will find it.
Happy Holidays, everyone.
Steve
