We Have a Migrant Education Problem—Probably Not What You’re Expecting

 

We Have a Migrant Education Problem

I spent six years in the high school classroom. During that time, I learned more Spanish than I ever learned in two years of high school—not because my teachers failed me, but because I did. Over those years, I taught a large number of Latin American students: Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Mexican—and the one Haitian family I had to translate technology issues for. I still remember an agricultural mechanics class where about one-third of my students were English Language Learners with little to no English proficiency. I didn’t avoid those students but welcomed them. I was the “send them my way” teacher, a far cry from the “this is America” mindset I once held.

As I grew to care deeply for students who often came here without a choice and were trying to build a life in a new country, I began to notice something troubling. I’m not convinced our education system is designed to help migrant students truly assimilate. Most ELL educators I encountered were short-staffed, overworked, discouraged, and/or underfunded. Some colleagues cared deeply; others, frankly, seemed numb to the burden of accommodating in the classroom. Teachers are legally required to accommodate ELL students, as they should be. However, when I raised concerns with an administrator about managing the growing list of “job” requirements while serving these students well, I was told to let bilingual students translate for the rest. When I pushed back—pointing out that this wasn’t fair to them—I was told, “That’s not really your job to worry about.” I was stunned. It was my job by law. It was my job by vocation. And it was my job by basic human decency.

Here’s the hard truth: somewhere along the way, political postures replaced moral, and dare I say Christian, responsibility, and children are paying the price. We complain loudly about assimilation, yet we quietly fail to support it. We argue policy while ignoring practice. You cannot claim to care about education and be negligent toward a child’s future. You cannot demand integration while withholding the tools to make it possible. The question isn’t whether migrant students should assimilate—the question is whether we are willing to help them do so. And that brings us back to a much older question: Who is my neighbor? And am I willing to act like it?

Disclaimer: There are many conversations around migration. This post is intended for this topic and this topic alone. I also recognize funding can be a hindrance for school districts. That’s is why lobbying is important. Connect me with your school district and I can help create a plan that benefits all students and their success. 

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