Helping educate immigrant children?

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I’m a senior citizen living in a parish where Hispanics outnumber all others. The pastor is Anglo, and the assistant priest is Hispanic. Presently there is a push for more pre-school education here in order to help children progress better, and if this succeeds I feel it will put children from homes where no English is spoken at an even greater disadvantage than they now have.
I am not trained as a teacher, but I feel I have good English skills and could assist a teacher in an ESL class. I’m thinking of approaching the clergy with the idea of a pre-school class for Hispanic children so that the “playing field” might be leveled a bit for them.
I’m wondering about the ethics of doing this; some children might be illegals and many of their parents certainly would be. I’m ambivalent about illegal immigration, but I feel the children are the victims of this and need all the help they can get. Any ideas?
Ray Mac
 
I’m not a big fan of preschool in general, but it seems to be very helpful for developmentally delayed children. So ESL would qualify in that regard. I hope if you launch it, you will involve the parents. I think educating children esp. with private money is a work of charity. Good luck and God Bless
 
Thanks, but my concern was really about whether this is the right thing to do or not.
Ray Mac.
 
It is the right thing to do. The children have no control over where their parents take them to live… legally or otherwise. Being able to speak English would be a big help to them. I say great idea.
 
I believe that the church has a “preference for the poor”, as God does. I am not at all sure that God is as law abiding as we would like to think. Look at the rules Christ broke in His lifetime here.

A preschool to help children learn English sounds like an excellent idea. Little ones learn very quickly. God bless you for your compassion.
 
GO FOR IT!!!👍

Make sure you have your ducks in a row before you go see the priests, have your written plan, any considerations regarding safety and hygiene issues, local law on preschools, etc. And DO involve the parents, esp. as assistants in a co-operative effort.
 
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OutinChgoburbs:
GO FOR IT!!!👍

Make sure you have your ducks in a row before you go see the priests, have your written plan, any considerations regarding safety and hygiene issues, local law on preschools, etc. And DO involve the parents, esp. as assistants in a co-operative effort.
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I think the whole idea is wonderful but how do you deal with the issue or get around the issue that some of these kids are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and that their parents may also be ILLEGALS?
 
Educating immigrants–esp. teaching them english–only helps both sides (assimilation theory is another issue), as non-English speaking immigrants cannot help themselves, let alone others here (in the US).

I do teach ESL to immigrants–all Hispanic until this year, and their legal status has NEVER been an issue. I only know the status of some students who have chosen to tell me how they got here. Immigrant children are supposed to be provided an education regardless of status. As for preschool: where I live there are preschools established by the state specifically for this demographic.

I agree with the poster who said that we (the Church) favor the poor. Why not help them? If someone can explain to me why it would be *unethical *to educate illegals or their children please do so. I know a lot of folks simply don’t like the idea, but that doesn’t make it wrong (yet). This is a sincere question on my part, so if anyone has any insight…

Also, interesting side note: our priest pointed out that Jesus was an immigrant for most of his early years as he and his family fled Herod.

Blessings.
 
I really do not have an issue with “private” organizations funding these programs for the kids and adults even…go for it!!!
 
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fud24682000:
I’m wondering about the ethics of doing this; some children might be illegals and many of their parents certainly would be.
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I am a middle school teacher. My job is to teach whichever children the administration sees fit to put in my classroom. I leave the decisions about who those kids ought to be to other people.

Put another way, teaching the ignorant is a spiritual work of mercy, and there are to be no limits to our works of mercy.

– Mark L. Chance.
 
Helping ANYONE learn the language of the country in which they live is a BIG plus in my book. And children generally learn easier. It always amazes me when a mama comes into my hospital in labor, her children all speak English where she herself doesn’t. :hmmm:

~ Kathy ~
 
After about age 11 or 12, the language center of the brain is formed and “set in stone” so to speak. Before this happens, multiple languages can be learned and “filed” in the same language centers of the brain (Wernicke’s and Broca’s–left side). After the preteen years, these areas stop being able to change to recognize sounds foreign to the child and the child has learned all the langauges it is going to “naturally;” i.e. without reformatting the brain. After these years, new language acquisition requires a re-wiring of an area of the right side of the brain where the new language will be stored, hence the marked difficulty in learning a second language as an adult. That’s why the kids are multilingual and mom is not.

So, OP–get them early! You’ve got the right idea.
 
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rachelleah:
After about age 11 or 12, the language center of the brain is formed and “set in stone” so to speak. Before this happens, multiple languages can be learned and “filed” in the same language centers of the brain (Wernicke’s and Broca’s–left side). After the preteen years, these areas stop being able to change to recognize sounds foreign to the child and the child has learned all the langauges it is going to “naturally;” i.e. without reformatting the brain. After these years, new language acquisition requires a re-wiring of an area of the right side of the brain where the new language will be stored, hence the marked difficulty in learning a second language as an adult. That’s why the kids are multilingual and mom is not.
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This would explain why my husband HEARS Italian and German, but replies in English.
 
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rachelleah:
After about age 11 or 12, the language center of the brain is formed and “set in stone” so to speak. Before this happens, multiple languages can be learned and “filed” in the same language centers of the brain (Wernicke’s and Broca’s–left side). After the preteen years, these areas stop being able to change to recognize sounds foreign to the child and the child has learned all the langauges it is going to “naturally;” i.e. without reformatting the brain. After these years, new language acquisition requires a re-wiring of an area of the right side of the brain where the new language will be stored, hence the marked difficulty in learning a second language as an adult. That’s why the kids are multilingual and mom is not.

So, OP–get them early! You’ve got the right idea.
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Wouldn’t it be awesome if there were affordable programs so all children - even English speaking could learn another language before their brain freezes up? I wish my children could speak Spanish or French! They can take a beginner’s Spanish class in grade school but it’s so very basic…

Then again. maybe they’d talk back to me in Spanish & I’d have NO IDEA what they were saying, "Mi Madre es loco! " 😛
 
carol marie:
Wouldn’t it be awesome if there were affordable programs so all children - even English speaking could learn another language before their brain freezes up? I wish my children could speak Spanish or French! They can take a beginner’s Spanish class in grade school but it’s so very basic…

Then again. maybe they’d talk back to me in Spanish & I’d have NO IDEA what they were saying, "Mi Madre es loco! " 😛
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your local library I am sure has Foriegn Language books, tapes Tapes etc. that you can use with your kids.
In our area my youngest son is involved in the local German Community School (meets on Saturdays) and they learn culture language etc. I also have tapes books etc.at home to renforce the german language. He now understands both languages (german /english) even though he answers you in english…but that is ok:)
 
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Karin:
your local library I am sure has Foriegn Language books, tapes Tapes etc. that you can use with your kids.
In our area my youngest son is involved in the local German Community School (meets on Saturdays) and they learn culture language etc. I also have tapes books etc.at home to renforce the german language. He now understands both languages (german /english) even though he answers you in english…but that is ok:)
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You’re probably right about the library - I’ll have to check it out. … that is too cool that your son can understand German!
 
carol marie:
You’re probably right about the library - I’ll have to check it out. … that is too cool that your son can understand German!
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There are many programs out there that can teach your child along with you if you care to learn another language…another program that works and is not too spendy is Muzzy( http://www.early-advantage.com/. )
Yes, my youngest son can understand and will eventually speak another language…many children in this country can do the same thing, and have, but I have also seen the attitude of most Americans to be “why learn a new language…everyone should speak english”
 
I think this is a wonderful project. 👍 There may be some licensing (sp?) laws for pre-schools as someone stated. That is always a task, but go for it if you can.

If the project looks to large or if immigration paperwork is needed for the State, consider a community play group where parents could go and have speakers on job skills, speaking English, understanding electric/phone/etc. bills, while the kids have a “preschool” lesson, Bible study, etc. Playgroups are open to all and not subject to as much “lawyering”.
 
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ProudArmyWife:
If the project looks to large or if immigration paperwork is needed for the State, consider a community play group where parents could go and have speakers on job skills, speaking English, understanding electric/phone/etc. bills, while the kids have a “preschool” lesson, Bible study, etc. Playgroups are open to all and not subject to as much “lawyering”.
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This is an excellent idea!!!
 
Thanks for all your replies! I had not looked at this thread since Dec. 31, and was pleased today to see the many thoughtful and helpful responses that had come in since that time.
As I looked these over it struck me that the need is not uniform throughout the country. It seems to be greater here in the Diocese of Sacramento where there are many immigrants.
Having a more informal setup as opposed to “classes” may be the best idea. It might provide the chance for immersion in English in the process of providing activities for the children.
Recently I attempted to assist a retired Spanish teacher in teaching English to Spanish-speakers at a local senior center. He did not have specialized training in ESL, for one thing, and it seemed that this formal class arrangement did not provide much much help. Sitting around with students after the class and conversing with them in simple sentences seemed to work better.
Yes, these seniors did have problems trying to learn, compounded by the fact that the teacher and a couple of the students were quite deaf! All the more reason to focus efforts on young children.
Ray Mac.
 
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