New
England
Writings about
Civics
Building Community through a Visit to the Department of
Transitional Assistance
Susan Schwartzkopf, Center for New Americans,
Northampton, MA
Connection
to Civic
Participation and Community Action Sourcebook:
» Section One: Finding Connections to Communities and Issues
» Section Two: Holding Decision Makers Accountable
Overall Objective and Connection to Civic Participation:
The goal of this activity was to make a stronger connection between the
employees at the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) and the immigrants
and refugees they serve as well as to educate and build awareness of immigrants'
history and their role within the community. Through visiting the DTA
office, sharing their experiences regarding the challenges they have faced
in adjusting to living in the US and participating in a dialogue with
DTA employees, the learners took part in a community-building activity
and obtained experience in developing their voice in the larger community.
Brief Description of Activity or Project:
After running into the class at the Greenfield Post Office (students were
practicing their English to buy stamps, etc.), the Director of the DTA
asked our class to visit his office to talk to all employees about their
lives and backgrounds, and their needs and difficulties in dealing with
the bureaucracy of social services. To prepare for the DTA visit, students
discussed their experiences of coming to the US in class and shared with
each other the challenges they have faced in becoming acclimated to life
in this society and dealing with the bureaucracy of various organizations.
Then they went to meet the employees at the DTA office.
Learner Profile: The class is comprised of eleven students who are immigrants and refugees. Students come from a variety of countries and backgrounds but this group has people from Russia, the Dominican Republic, China, Tibet, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Mexico. There is a large population in Franklin County of Russian speakers and Spanish speakers. Class meets for two hours a day, four days a week for a total of 14 weeks in the cycle. For this activity, we also included students who had been in the class during past cycles but have moved on to either the community college or part and full-time work. We also included participants from our citizenship program who have taken classes and/or received assistance in attaining citizenship.
Materials Needed: Teacher made question and answer sheet so that students can practice talking about their experiences before and after coming to the United States.
Time Required: One or two hour long sections of class and two hours for actual visit to the DTA office.
Introduction/Pre-teaching Activity:
Students talk about experiences when they first came to the United States.
Teacher asks questions: When did you come to the United States? How did
you feel when you first arrived? How do you feel now? Students list feelings
and experiences. Teacher scribes, and uses pictures to elicit new vocabulary
for feelings.
Process:
1. Students are asked in large group about their experience of coming
to the U.S.
2. Students work in groups and use pictures to learn new vocabulary for feelings
3. Students work in pairs and interview each other about their experiences
4. Students ask and answer questions about their past and present life in the U.S.
5. Students give short, oral presentation of their story
6. Students talk about the challenges and difficulties of living in the U.S. and dealing with various social service agencies
7. Students reflect on this process
8. Students visit DTA and present their stories
9. Students answer questions and engage in dialogue with DTA employees
10. Students participate in social gathering and lunch with employees after presentation
11. Students write a group thank you note
Evaluation or Evidence of Learning:
Students talked about the meeting in our next class and worked together
to write a thank you card to the DTA director and employees. Students
also talked in groups to discuss what they learned and what they liked
about this activity.
Teacher Reflections:
This worked well for many reasons. Students had the opportunity to practice
telling their stories and interviewing one another in the safety of the
classroom first. Then students supported one another when they participated
in sharing their stories to a larger community. They could also talk about
their experiences and challenges to the group of DTA employees when usually
their dealings with the people in this agency happen in a situation of
stress or of needing assistance. Students found the experience empowering
and they enjoyed themselves once the initial nervousness wore off. Students
provided support for one another and those that probably would never have
spoken out by themselves, talked and answered questions because so many
of their classmates were with them and doing the same. Students in the
ESOL class participated in the whole project but past students also came
to the DTA meeting and lunch. These students shared their success stories
(having gone on to college or employment) and offered a different and
positive perspective to our encounter. Past participants in our citizenship
program came as well and shared what it meant to have started from the
beginning of life in this country to now being citizens of the U.S. and
enjoying the rights and privileges of that. All participants seemed to
appreciate being asked about their lives, past, and countries.
It was also an opportunity to bring up the needs and challenges of immigrants' lives in this country. Students talked about the need for translators in hospitals and doctors' offices for newly arrived immigrants. Two single mothers expressed the need for affordable daycare in order to continue English classes and computer training. Employees were talking with each other about these issues after the meeting during the social and more informal lunch. It was an awareness building event for both students and DTA employees. This setting offered an opportunity to bridge some of the gaps between these two groups who usually come together for different purposes and to communicate without the constraints of the power structure that is always present when DTA employees meet with immigrants during an appointment for assistance or social services. Supporting one another was essential for fostering and developing this positive group experience. Everyone participated at some level and every voice was an important part of the group.
If I did this again, I would extend the project. I would spend more class time asking students to prepare a visual or written picture of their lives. They could make a poster of pictures of themselves and their families, their homes in their first country, and their environment in this country. They could do writing activities to document their stories and then as a class we could put together a book of our shared experiences.
Student Reactions:
Students liked having the opportunity to share their stories and speak
to a group of native English speakers. They liked that the people were
interested in their stories, asked them questions, and showed genuine
appreciation for their struggles in this country. They felt more confident
after the meeting and some beginner students said, "They understood
me!" with surprise. Students liked being invited to lunch after the
session.
Students initially did not like the idea of talking
to a large group of people. Many said they could not or would not do it.
But other students with stronger English told them that they could and
that it was their responsibility to do so. At first these nervous students
did not want to participate, but after the meeting they expressed that
they were glad they had been 'pushed' to do so.
New
England Literacy Resource Center
World Education
Boston, MA
(617) 482-9485
