I don't remember having very many friends that were "different" than me when I was in elementary school. I didn't really think much of it until just recently. I was looking around my classroom and saw how lucky my students are and how lucky I am. I have students from all over the world. They are exposed to cultures, languages and religions of all kinds.
Students whose families came from Mexico seeking a better life for their families. Who are here illegally and are risking so much for their children. There is the girl from Ukraine, whose grandparents shared, through her translating on Grandparent's Day, stories of running through the streets of Ukraine with their first born hidden under their arms as they dodged bullets flying around them. How when they finally reached safety and unwrapped their child from the blankets, realized that their baby had been shot and killed, right there in their arms. A Muslim girl from Ethiopia, who draws pictures of her and her brothers running and playing in the muddy streets, barefoot outside of her grandmothers home made from mud and straw...with HUGE smiles on their faces. The family with 3 children who arrived at our school 2 weeks ago from a refugee camp in Africa. They discovered the drinking fountain and were seen washing their hands and faces in it. There is a Russian girl, the Phillippino boy, a boy from Loas, a girl from Somalia.
These children speak multiple languages, left familiar places with their families and not much else, to start their lives over. My American students have no idea what their classmates have left behind or how grateful they are to be in America...but I hope to instill in them that we are a classroom rich in culture, and that it is a good place to be!
