“…recalibrate the relationship between home and school in a way that allows them to maintain a sense of control over the influence of the outside world on their children.” (Doucet, pg. 2706)

Reading this article was in many regards like reading an account of my own childhood and evoked an array of emotions. My own parents (and the parents of most of my childhood friends) actively worked to shield me from what they referred to as “worldly views” that did not coincide with their own beliefs regarding my education and upbringing. Although I am of the third generation on both sides of my family to be born in this great country, I sympathize with the 1.5 and 2nd generation Haitian-American immigrants struggling to raise their children in an environment that, to be frank, is in stark contradiction to their own values.

Today’s schools in the US can be a challenging environment to navigate for a student whose home life stresses respect for self or community and promotes academic achievement. Young students especially are susceptible to influences from classmates who don’t have strong influences in their lives to champion positive values and counter what the author refers to “Americanization.” I think it’s only natural for newly arrived parents to instinctively switch into a protective mode with their school age children. I’d also like to stress that there are many parents, whose families have been in this country longer than the Haitian-American immigrants described in this article, who are also actively working to protect their children from similar influences.

One very important difference between established families and 1.5 and 2nd generation Haitian-Americans is knowledge of and personal experience in the American education system. My own parents had the benefit of being products of the American education system, where that seems rare with the latter. That experience provides a parent with invaluable knowledge in how and where they can curb the influence of mainstream American culture. It is that knowledge that allows a parent to know where the lines between home and school are blended and where they are quite clearly not blended.

I think that the topic of this article stresses the importance of not living in isolation upon entry in the education system. In this respect, breaking down the walls of isolation is a two-way street. Teachers and schools should feel a sense of obligation to create a welcoming environment with new families and students that provides them with the resources and relationships to succeed. We also owe it to students and their families to create an open dialogue with them about what their expectations are and not denegrade them for simply being who they are.