My "WOW" Moments

 As I was talking with the ELL teacher and with some of the students, there were many moments that I was shocked. This experienced helped me grow professionally and personally. I learned a lot about the students' culture and their life experiences in this short amount of time.
Here are some of the things that I found eye-opening:

• One student shared that when he was in a refugee camp, he would play kickball with dead batteries. He said that was the greatest gift that he had been given. When he left for America, he let his friend keep his dead batteries for something to play with when he was gone.
• Another student described his home (hut), which was made of mud and grass. At night, they barricaded the door, because lions would roam their village. If they left any food sitting out, the lion would try to find it.
• Two siblings shared that they witnessed the death of their parents. They were sent here (America) to live with their 19 year old sister, who is struggling to make a living for herself and newborn baby.
• When families come to America, certain programs only give the families 8 months of support. Most families have never used a stove, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, ect. before. Many families try to work, but are unable to, due to language barriers or having little to no experience. Families are in survival mode and are just trying to make ends meet with their new lives.
• Parents learning to drive are only given six hours of instruction before being issued a driver's license.
• My district has students with 35 different native languages. Some of the places that families have immigrated from are Somalia, The Congo, Iraq, Bosnia, Russia, India, Latin America, Kenya, and Egypt.

My practicum experience helped squash misconceptions that I had about ELL students and their families. The most important thing that I have taken away from my experience is being a thoughtful teacher and truly knowing the baggage that ELL students bring with them.