Kamwe Paw
Ron George
ENGL 202A
03/10/2013
Observation of Philadelphia Migration Students and Parents The migrant education program strives to ensure the migrant students to receive educational service to develop to their fullest potential. It is because children of migrant agricultural workers move so frequently to accommodate their parents’ search for employment, they often fall behind their non-migrant peers developmentally, socially and academically. So many different people or ethnic group was involve in the program. The whole week of my spring break, I went to the office, school, and some friends’ house to observe their culture. I am going to talk about the most people or ethnic groups who involve in the program. They are: Karen (who from Burma and Thai refugee camp), Chin (who also from Burma and Thai refugee camp), and Nepalese (who from Nepal).
My whole week of spring break I went to the office located in 2029 S. 8th St. Philadelphia, PA 19148 to do my observation on the migration students and parents. Every Monday and Wednesday they had after school program and they also had Saturday school every week. About 300 of migrant students in the program and the building was small and had little tinny space and not enough for all of the students to come and participate. Because of that reason the coordinator of the program decided that on Monday and Wednesday they only allow students from Pre-K to 8 grade to come to the building for after school program. For high school students she send the staff or worker from the program to their school to help them with their homework. The building was old, the roof of the building almost fall into a part but still working for now. Every people working in the office have to share a room, four people share one room because the space in the office was tinny and many people are in there. The building not that big only had three floors and a basement. The first floor of building had one big room for any event, such as after school and parents meeting program, special celebration and other events. The rest of the building are office and restroom.
In a very tinny space, many students came and enjoyed their after school program at migrant education office. The staff were so busy, just a few staff and many students. The staff had to run between the tables, walked back and forth. Many students were hand up, asking for help but still some students walking, running around while the staff were busy helping other students. When I looked around the room, during they were working, doing their work I saw different of students with different behavior and culture. In the middle of the table full out of the boys and some talking (noisy girls) girls sitting around with the boys eating their snack and play around with each other, talking to each other at the same time they were doing their homework. In the back of the room, one group of girls sitting by their self without talking to other people and without looking up sitting there and doing their homework. Another group of girls in the corner of the room sitting there with their make up on the table and doing their make up while they were waiting for the staff to come and help them. Another group of boys in front of the room sitting on the table with their phone, texting, playing game and ear phone on their ears listen to music. Some small kids running around the room, playing with each other while the staff were busy. Some students chewing the gum, and they seem so relax not either worry about their homework.
The girls in the back of the group I will called them as quiet group, they seem so shy and quiet. Those girls are Karen girls, from Burma and Thailand refugee camp just like me. They didn’t talk that much because of so many reason. The teachers and some staff ask me why those girls are didn’t talk and quiet all the time. Are they shy or afraid of something? And they also said, when those girls were seeing me they were start talking, smiling to me and seem like they were happy and comfortable with me. As I know, it was because Karen people are used to stay like that since they were in camp school. They were not shy, the reason they didn’t talk because they used to be quite and they don’t have the right to ask question in class, they could not talk back to teacher unless the teacher let them to. That was why they were afraid if they ask something, they think that might be wrong or not nice recoding to their culture. In the camp school, every time when the teacher come in they had to stand up for greeting respect to their teacher after that, they were not allowed to talk anymore all they had to do is quiet and listen to the teacher teaching. They also did the same thing here, most of the teacher find out that the Karen students are quiet don’t talk back, don’t ask question ever though they didn’t know or understand. They always seem quiet and sit by their self.
The middle table with some girls and boys are chin and Nepal. The Karen people and chin are behavior almost the same but still not all are similar. Karen speak two language which is called “Shaw Karen and Poe Karen” chin has only one language which is chin language. Both are from Burma and Thailand, so the older people know how to speak Burmese but not to the younger people. Most of the young kids know how to speak Thai because they were born in Thailand and grew up in Thailand. The chin students are also quiet while they in camp or in Burma but when they came here seem like they getting improve, they getting change. They are at least ask question, make friend with people here and talked a lot not quiet all the time ever though they didn’t know how to speak well they still trying to speak up and ask question. I didn’t see a lot of chin in this program, just ten or twenty families were in the program. Ever though they were getting changed but their behavior were still the same as before, they did respect to older people, they don’t talked while the people talked they listen while teacher talked to them. They did as their parents, teacher and older people said.
Those girls in the corner of the room and those boys in the front table of the room are Nepalese students. They are from Nepal, they loved to eat chapertin with hot pepper lemon and spicy sauce. The girls are like to put make up on their face dress pretty, like to dance and sing along with it. Every time when they have free time, ever in school or at home they getting together and dance. The day I saw them, they still have their make up along with them and they were sitting by them self and doing their habit. Ever though the teacher or staff keep yelling them, keep telling them put it away but they still have a good reason to keep their makeup. They are pretty smart, ever though they didn’t know known how to speak English well but they try to talk to their teacher or their friends. The whole tables, about eight girls were sitting together with their iPod or iPhone, ear phone on their ears, music are too loud, chewing the gum and doing their make up while they were waiting for the staff to come. Some girl stand up and getting together dance with their music on their iPod and ear phone on their ears. The boys are talking in their language, laughing at them but still the girls do not either care.
The boys are with their phone busy texting with their friend, some are playing game, and some are listen to music. They have two or three staff that speak their language working in the program, every time when they had the problem with other students their staff have to take care of that because they didn’t ever listen to the other staff and they also talk back to other staff because some other staff are high school students and some are so young. Their behavior are getting worse, because they know their right and they know what to say back. The most people in the program are Nepalese, the most talking are also the Nepalese kids. They talk a lot, they did make friends with the other students that know how to speak English well that is why they improve in English then the people that didn’t talk at all.
Over all, Karen students are more likely quiet and don’t talk that much. The Chin students are more likely talk and learn new thing. The Nepalese kids are more likely loud, talk too much and sometime out of control. The Nepalese and Chin kids are learning thing by them self don’t need adult to teach them what to do and not to do, they learn it form their neighbor and in their school, and in their class. To Karen kids, they are more likely listen to their parents, they live under their parents and they don’t learn that much from their neighbor and don’t be like their friend in school or class. They always keep quiet and by their self. Because their parents keep telling them that show respect and don’t mess up with other kids. They also said, don’t talk back to teacher or adult, be respect them and don’t make friend with American people they are dangerous. The Karen parents as I know they were too much worry about their kids and they don’t understand the development of today and how they had to let their kids grow, learn thing from their community and common sense. Most of the Karen parents are grew up in a mountain without education and in village that is why they don’t really understand how the city life are.