Grade 7 Builds Empathy and Cross-Cultural Understanding in Immigration Unit

Students are encouraged to practice autonomy in the interview process, taking responsibility for setting up the meeting, choosing the interview questions, and conducting the interview with empathy and respect for their subject’s privacy. Interviewees included family members, neighbors, family friends, members of the Rivers professional community, and their friends and family. 

Each Grade 7 humanities unit begins with “Essential Questions,” which the group refers back to throughout the unit. Some of the questions for the immigration unit were: “What are the ways in which people support or don’t support immigrants who join their community?” and “What ideas, values, and lessons do immigrants bring that strengthen the communities they join?”  

“One reason for doing this unit is that there are many different reasons people emigrate,” said Tye. He and Anderson strive to include discussion of current events in their classes and reinforce the essential questions for the unit, including the call to “avoid the danger of a single story.” 

Before conducting their interviews, students gained familiarity with the topic of immigration from additional sources and perspectives. As part of the unit, they read the book Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town, by Warren St. John, the true story of a ’90s soccer team in Clarkston, GA, made up of refugees from across the world. And at the start of October, the grade took a field trip to several locations in Framingham to connect the topic of immigration to the local community. 

They learned about the history of immigration in the area through an exhibition on immigration journeys at the Framingham History Center, and then they visited BRACE, the Brazilian-American Center, where staff members shared information about the center’s mission to support their community of immigrants. The last stop on the field trip was lunch at Pueblito Paisa Restaurant, a Colombian restaurant, where students spoke with a staff member from Venezuela and learned about Colombian culture and food. 

Following the field trip, students submitted reflections and questions that the trip raised. One student wrote, “Before this trip, I had never thought about how immigrants bring their ideas, values, and culture to strengthen our community. For example, when we went into Pueblito Paisa, I got to experience Colombian and Venezuelan food and culture. I really enjoyed drinking traditional smoothies and trying an empanada. In addition, the owner shared his advice to us about never giving up and to follow your dreams.”

Another student shared, “The most meaningful part of the trip for me was when I couldn’t understand the man at BRACE speaking Spanish, which helped me realize that immigrants can have a hard time understanding English in the U.S. It allowed me to understand how challenging it can be for immigrants to adjust to a new culture, language, and way of life. It also reminded me of the importance of supporting others as they build a new home in a place that may not always feel welcoming.”

After interviewing their subjects and compiling their reports, students shared their takeaways from the oral history process in final presentations for the unit. In Tye’s classroom, the multicultural yurt, the walls are covered with artifacts from areas around the world—a fitting backdrop for the students to present their reports, which told the stories of people from nearly every continent. Interviewees’ home countries included Tonga, Eritrea, Poland, Ireland, Mexico, China, UAE, Cabo Verde, Japan, and Lebanon, just to name a few. 

As one student reflected, “[This woman’s] journey has shown how independent, resilient, and strong she truly is, moving twice to two very different places with different cultures.” The student learned from this woman’s story that she had to expect the unexpected and adjust to her new culture, “because it’s not going to adjust for you,” said the student.

As students presented, discussion continued, with the group at times pausing to dig into questions such as birthright citizenship, the status of Puerto Rico as a U.S. protected territory, and nuances within Mexican Spanish dialect. 

Students who interviewed family members also gained new perspectives into their personal stories. One student who interviewed her grandmother wrote in her report, “I feel that I have a duty to share her story and make sure others welcome immigrants because of how harsh the government is today. I find a deep meaning in her story and how I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her and my family’s decision to move.”

Students also gained new insights into professional community members. One student interviewed Director of Enrollment Management Yassine Talhaoui P’32 and reflected, “Before I had this interview, Mr. Talhaoui was just a face I’d seen on campus. Now, each time I see him, I remember his story.”

Head of Middle School John Bower P’31 attended the presentations and commended the students on their meaningful work. He emphasized that the project was not only meaningful for the students, saying, “In my conversations with faculty members and colleagues who have participated in the interviews, all of them impressed upon me how meaningful this was for them, too.” 

As the presentations came to a close, Tye encouraged his students to keep thinking about how the curriculum extends beyond the classroom. “I hope you can see that what we do relates to the real world,” he said.