Middle of Everywhere - Mary Bray Pipher [74]
I spent a year at a high school in Lincoln, sitting in on classes, doing therapy, and interviewing students, including Liem and Anton whose stories open this chapter. I befriended students and their families and became part of their lives. I taught a few students to drive. I have tried with these stories to remain true to the spirit of the school. I have changed names and identifying details of the students. At the high school, I worked with many of the ELL teachers but, for simplicity's sake, I will refer only to one composite teacher I'll call Mrs. Kaye.
I first visited on a crisp fall day. I parked in the crowded parking lot and walked through students of all shapes, styles, and colors toward the enormous high school. On the front steps of the school, Vietnamese young men, wearing baggy pants, silky shirts, and gold chains, with their hair slicked back in a gangster look, danced to Vietnamese rap music. The young women, tiny and delicate, wore skintight pants and high heels. They alternately flirted with the boys and yawned at their antics. The girls were a funny combination of sophisticated in their dress and innocent in their behavior. They giggled and blushed but managed to look seductive as well.
Inside the big doors hung flags from twenty countries. The language rhythms of Arabic, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Bosnian jazzed up the halls. Young Iranian women in long black robes hurried past African American and Latino kids. There were lots of white kids here, too, some from poor families but many from middle-class and even wealthy families.
I walked up two flights of stairs to Mrs. Kaye's room. Her classroom had many welcome signs and a quotation by Teilhard de Chardin: THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO GIVE THE NEXT GENERATION A REASON TO HOPE. She had only one rule posted: BE POLITE, IT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO BE NICE THAN TO LEARN ENGLISH. The walls were covered with maps, piñatas, Buddhas, paper flowers, posters from various countries, and photos of "great students through the years."
Mrs. Kaye greeted me warmly, and as the students filtered in, we chatted about the ELL program and about the students I would soon meet. She spoke about how scary it was to walk into this giant building with no English. Many of the kids arrived jet-lagged and in severe culture shock. For the first few weeks everyone had a "deer in the headlights" look. New students could hardly comprehend what was happening to them. They drifted through the day, trying to stay out of trouble.
Mrs. Kaye was an excellent teacher, gentle and low-key. I sat in on her cultural orientation class for most of a year. I'll report on just four classes: day 1, which was my introduction and orientation to the class; day 26, which was a discussion of family differences across cultures; day 75, which was a class for young women on health; and day 170, a day in which students discussed identity poems.
CLASS ROSTER:
Liem Khoi Alberto Velida Faisal Nadia
Patti Cahn Zlatko Tharaya Anton Homera
Day 1—September 9, 1999
Mrs. Kaye introduced me and asked the students to tell me about themselves. In halting English, and with both laughter and embarrassment, the students responded to her request. The Vietnamese kids went first. A young-looking guy dressed in slacks and a dress shirt introduced himself as Liem. He had a reserved manner and kept his eyes on his papers or the teacher. When a flashier Vietnamese boy nearby made a joke, Liem ignored it.
Liem sat next to Patti, who was dressed in leather slacks, a shiny top, and high-heeled sandals. She was femininity personified, delicate and shy. Patti looked like a pampered princess, but she was a steel magnolia. She worked an eight-hour shift after school to help support her family. She was a good daughter, but on the