Besides gender and generational status, the ways in which immigrant youth are received in the new society-particularly its schools-play a very important role in educational adaptation. In cases where racial and ethnic inequalities between immigrant and native populations are highly structured, such as for Algerians and Moroccans in France, Koreans in Japan or Mexicans in California, social disparagement often permeates the experience of minority youth. … perceived as “perpetual foreigners” and “model minorities” or “honorary whites.” Sadowski, M.(Ed.).(2008). Adolescents at school: Perspectives on youth, identity, and education (2nd ed.)

This passage clearly points out the importance of school and teachers’ role in immigrant students’ educational adaptation. It reminds me of a book I recently read named “Warriors don’t cry”. It is an autobiography in which the author Melba Pattillo wrote her experience as one of the nine teenagers chosen to integrate to Central High School in Arkansas after the landmark Supreme Court ruling case, Brown v. Board of Education. She recalled the tough days she was taunted, threatened and attacked in school. Although the context of today is different from that Melba Pattillo faced with fifty eight years ago, some issues I found in the Warriors Don’t Cry are still critical to our teaching and learning, such like segregation, discrimination and bulling.

Melba described that she was treated like “an outside observer, sitting and looking into a glass room that held all the white students, separate and apart from me.” Segregation is never only related to racism. Any minority in the classroom may feel be segregated if she/he cannot be included into the class friendly. As a teacher, it’s extremely important to learn about all students and create an inclusive environment for them, especially for those minorities who are vulnerable to be marginalized by peers based on their gender, class, culture, race, sexual identity, etc. Melba also described the indifference of her teacher when she was discriminated and bullied by white students. It hurts. School should be a safe and civilized place for all children. As a teacher, we need to treat students without bias in the first place. Also, it’s teachers’ responsibility to instruct students to treat others equally and friendly. It’s no doubt that the teacher should support any students who are discriminated or bullied and try her/his best efforts to appropriately correct the students who are apt to discriminate or bully others. For teachers, it’s critical to pay attention to creating inclusive and equal classroom environment for all students, in case of any minority being marginalized.